Reviews

This one was hard for me to finish. The majority of chapters were long and hard for me to keep an interest in. I also lost the connection between some chapters and the overall "story" that the author was trying to weave together. Not really what I expected based on the description of the book. Too many characters to keep track of and after finishing I just don't really see the point of the story. Just not a book for me.

afahs572's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

kendragaylelee's review against another edition

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4.0

I love a story with interwoven characters. Seeing how the plot lines weave together is like catching glimpses of magic--and it reminds me that nothing we do in this world is ever truly solitary. The Candy House explores ideas about privacy, the collective, and what it takes to truly rebel from tidal wave of ever-invasive technology.

Honestly, I usually hate all those topics. I dislike futuristic explorations of where technology may take us. I don't like to think about my ever-shrinking privacy while I'm reading fiction. If I want to be scared to death, I'll watch the news.

But Jennifer Egan is talented. And she made these explorations philosophical. She created a future that wasn't dystopian (not entirely). Some things were horrific, absolutely. But the aspects of the future that involved sharing consciousness brought up a lot of philosophical questions for me. And, truth be told, made me think a lot more critically about social media and what I share on the interwebs (the piece about Napster was what really got me). None of the think pieces I've read on privacy have ever gotten me to do that--they were too alarmist, too devoid of the reasons we actually engage so wholeheartedly with technology & what we glean from it.

Egan's characters fascinated me. They were complex and compelling. I felt totally immersed in each point of view I was exposed to.

Except.

The ending fell apart for me.

I found the description of Athena's possible transness both wildly offensive and highly unlikely. The terms in which she was described wouldn't be used by most Gen Zers today, and I doubt discussions about gender are going to regress back to 1990s terms in the years ahead. And I couldn't figure out precisely why Athena was introduced. I have a theory... but she still reads like a loose end, a character plopped into the narrative for little reason.

And the last chapter... it felt flat to me. Egan has a knack for delving into the thinking and feeling of her characters so deeply that even the most ostensibly unrelatable characters' points of view take on a familiar feel. She's particularly talented in that way. Which is why it was so jarring to feel emotionally disconnected from the last chapter. Was it fiction? Reality? Does it matter?

Overall, definitely worth the read. I'm really looking forward to hearing what other folks think. Which is why I think this one will make a tremendous book club read.

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