Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

3 reviews

rachaelwho's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Good. Would have liked a little more story from a little fewer characters. Lulu's excellent passage felt a little lifted from Carmen Maria Machado, which feels like an odd thing to say about Jennifer Egan so maybe I'm mistaken but...
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Despite having the subtitle "A Novel," this book is actually a collection of short stories...they are all set in the same world and some of the characters have cameos in multiple stories, but other than that, each story could be read on its own, or out of order. It was confusing to me at first, because I kept expecting to return to the first story, and then the second, etc., but once I understood that they were short stories, I actually enjoyed the book more.

Maybe I would've understood it more if I'd read the Goon Squad book first? Not sure, but I loved some of the stories, found others boring, didn't like some of them. I think my favorite was the one written entirely via letters. I enjoyed the complexity of the characters that are presented, though most of them make questionable decisions and aren't very likable.

I did really appreciate the commentary on memories and social media and just how much of yourself you're willing to share with strangers. A lot of food for thought. I mean, if you could upload all your memories online and be able to access them at any time, and actually watch them as you experienced them, like a movie, but they would also be available for anyone in the world to watch them, would you do it?

Thanks as always to Libro.fm, Simon and Schuster Audio, and the author for my ALC.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thevioletfoxbookshop's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 "The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan is an absolute mind-bender, blending speculative, experimental, and science fiction together seamlessly in a novel that feels both contemporary and nostalgic.

Imagine a future where you're able to upload the contents of your unconscious into cubes. Your every thought, feeling, and memory instantly accessible through technology. Now imagine that you can share your unconscious to a social network in exchange for access to everyone else's on that network. Sound exhilarating? Terrifying? This is the world that Jennifer Egan has created in "The Candy House." Through a myriad of characters, she shows us how this technology came to be, how it changes the world - for better and for worse, and the unexpected ways in which we're all interconnected.

Fans of "A Visit From The Goon Squad" will recognize many familiar characters in this sibling novel. However, I want to be very clear - you do not need to have read "A Visit From The Goon Squad" to read "The Candy House." I knew nothing about "A Visit From The Goon Squad" prior to starting "The Candy House" and never once felt lost or like I was missing something. I do, however, want to go read "A Visit From The Goon Squad" now simply because "The Candy House" was so good!

Telling you what "The Candy House" is about is like trying to tell you what the human experience is about. It's something you know, but can't quite put into words. Yes, "The Candy House" is about a technology that allows people to upload their unconscious, but it's about so much more than that.
It's about nostalgia in the age of social media and technology.
It's about authenticity and how we try to replicate that but continually fall short. Can the feeling of dawn be replicated without the real thing? What about a memory? Or are those just echoes of the actual thing?
It's about how things are messy in the moment, but become clear with time and distance.
It's about the endeavor to quantify and capture what it means to be human. Can that be done? What is the value in it? What are the ethical implications? 
And once we've built this "candy house" of being able to quantify, capture, record, and share anything within ourselves and our world...what is the cost?

These are the questions that Egan asks in "The Candy House." 
The attempts to answer are just as roiling and complex as the questions. Yet, Egan offers a jarringly clear perspective of our modern world. 

I particularly loved how Egan plays with unconventional narrative. For example, we get an entire chapter in the form of emails. Egan's creative writing enhances each character beyond what we see them do and hear them say in the story. Their voices are so distinct, which is a tribute to what a phenomenal writer Jennifer Egan really is! Plus, it was just plain fun to read!

There are some incredibly big ideas and questions in "The Candy House," but more than that, the relationships between the characters and the character development left a real imprint on me. The world is vast and the future is undetermined. Yet somehow, it's a small world and our paths are all intertwined.
"The Candy House" will stay with me for a very long time.

If you're looking for a thought-provoking novel with rich characters, look no further. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...