Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

9 reviews

mana_elena's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

The person who recommended this book to me described it as "It's an easy read, not in the sense that it's simple but in the way that a conversation with someone you love is easy", and I think that's an excellent description for the book. I was intrigued by the fact that all but three chapters are written in third person, and about the choice for which characters got first person voice, and the strong effect of referring to one character as "you". 

I also thought it was interesting how the character we are first introduced to forms the through line for the story and especially how our initial perspective of her affects the other stories she appears in, adding some dramatic irony to other people's opinions of her. The novel doesn't have a main character, strictly speaking, but she is the main character, as far as I'm concerned.

I personally found the second to last chapter a compelling "end" to the story, but I think the author felt it was necessary/honest to have it end the way that it did. I can see how it rounds out the perspectives shared in the book. As a personal preference, though, stories set in the near future break my suspension of disbelief. Egan's predictions for the 2020's are pretty good in many respects and I think suit the tone and message of the book, I just didn't like having to "learn" a new setting in the last chapter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racism

rebeccadiv's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

This book was very interesting to me because when I was reading it, I was engaged. But when I would put it down, I didn't feel particularly drawn to pick it up again. I'm not sure I would have finished it if I didn't have the second one on my TBR to read. I did enjoy following how all of the characters connected though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Moderate: Self harm, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Suicide

Minor: War, Homophobia, and Racism

annaki_laila's review against another edition

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

3.75

Weird. Good and bad. Once I realised each chapter was the first and last time we'd get each character's perspective, I enjoyed it more - it felt more valuable. Overall interesting. One major thing I didn't like was the last chapter - maybe could've done entirely without it, and made the PowerPoint chapter the last one (I enjoyed that one) - because the cynical take on the future really overshadowed the actual narrative and full-circle-ness, for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racism, Self harm, and Death

autihd_elno's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book quite a lot until the final chapter. The constantly shift POV was interesting and overall I found it worked for me, there were only two or so chapters I found dragged relative to the rest of the book. The final chapter didn't ruin the book for me by any means, but something about the speculative fiction element of it didn't land well for me. Maybe it would have landed better in 2010, but I had trouble buying into the imagined future tech. I also didn't much like the character of

Alex,

and not so much in a like-ability way, I didn't necessarily "like" a good number of the POV characters in the book, but for whatever reason

Alex, or his story,

felt like a let down, or anti-climax for the end of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Mental illness, Racism, and Fatphobia

Minor: Infidelity, War, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Drug abuse

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Interesting because it’s hard to say what I read. I think it was a collection of short stories tethered by a few reoccurring characters throughout the book. The timeline was all over the place, so it was hard to put a chronological order to the events. And the connections between characters and stories were sometimes only tenuous. Each story was almost self contained and complete otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Genocide

mylargirl's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Racial slurs, Drug use, Addiction, and Mental illness

traa's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Suicide, Death, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Addiction, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Self harm, and Drug abuse

Minor: Medical content, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Racism, Genocide, and Homophobia

phantomgecko's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not a novel exactly but not just a collection of short stories. Densely interconnected snippets of different lives. Each chapter is written in a unique style that tempts me to call it some sort of long form poetry. Styles that stuck out being the one with all (the parentheses), the one in second person, and the one that was a powerpoint.

I didn't really care for the people and what they were doing, but I enjoyed the circles and knots that wove them all together. Like, wow, all these terrible people really couldn't have done it by themselves. I need a bulletin board covered in pins and string to illustrate how wildly connected these stories all are. Especially the ones that seem out of place, like where the PR lady does business with a war criminal.

Again, not just short stories. Though some of the chapters could be interesting stand-alones, the effect of all of them together is just top notch.

Also, the peeking into the future was fascinating. A new baby boom. The devolution of language. Wild stuff.

So, in conclusion, I really really liked this book's structure and premise and details and styles. But I didn't care about the characters and what they did nor about the music/punk/art/drug scene prominent in most of the characters' lives.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, and Toxic relationship

fraise's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Medical content, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Eating disorder and Cancer