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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Maybe one of the most depressing books I've ever read... but I still liked it ok, was certainly fascinated at times.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Visit from the Goon Squad narrates the life of different people through different timelines all somehow connected to two of the major characters, Bennie and Sasha. All the stories seem to have a common theme of loss related to aging and lost glories. The stories can get depressing at times with Scotty's story being a particular highlight. There is a chapter done in powerpoint that's pretty cool too and is worth checking out. My only complaint here would be some of the stories don't hit the same notes like better ones (i.e. Scotty and Jocelyn's tale). Other than that, the book is a really solid read/
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
sad
fast-paced
This book takes over 300 pages to complete the longest rally of ping pong I’ve read in a while. Characters bounce between witty foresight and regret as if their lives depended on it. At times these characters’ stories—in all the many unique ways they took shape— drew me in purely through emotion, charm, or pity. However, at other times I felt like I was reading my own wishful romanticized dreams of the desire to pick myself up and move myself to the largest city in America, New York City. I read this book through rose colored lenses while its characters rarely seem to straggle away from their own lenses of self scrutiny. As a fresh twenty year old this book makes me reckon with something a hair stylist told my partner, “from the ages of 19-27 you’ll wanna kill yourself and then things become slightly okay”. However, this book makes that experience the price one must pay for trying to live an interesting life. I had heard about the PowerPoint section and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a child who spent my free time organizing my thoughts through overly decorated Google Slides. For fun. If you had taken away the Pulitzer Winner sticker I would’ve been more wowed by the result of closing it upon completion but unfortunately the sticker set my expectations quite high. Nonetheless, I’ll be recommending it to my circle of friends as we spend these next years dreaming of all we could do and still feeling hopeful about it.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the voice of a good writer, and Jennifer Egan is a good writer. Each chapter is remarkably palatable and gripping. Each character is different yet clearly tethered to the same trustworthy hand. I loved this and found it beautifully creative and real. The style wonderfully represented the way an author SHOULD be constructing their stories by thinking this deeply about their characters and the worlds surrounding them.