Reviews - A Visit from the Goon Squad

6.37k reviews for:

A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer Egan

3.71 AVERAGE

mblematic's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

re-read (but audio this time). just as good as I remembered

sarahburchh's review against another edition

4.5

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

i really enjoyed this book. while the change in tone / style / character every chapter caught me off gaurd at first, once i leaned into it i loved seeing how all the stories were interwoven and how each character expressed themselves. got a little weird when egan veered into telling the future, but honestly as a book written 15 years ago, she got the gist of us being consumed by our devices. great stuff.

i don’t usually rate but i think this book should have a higher rating so … be the change or whatever.

andbarr_'s review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

benmsmith's review against another edition

5.0

4.5/5, rounded up entirely for the Powerpoint chapter.

marcele's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

accio_morebooks's review against another edition

3.0

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

averycm4's review against another edition

4.75

this book really surprised me. i was unimpressed at the beginning despite having ripped through the first half in one sitting. i wasn’t immediately into the shifting perspectives and i found it a little hard to connect but in the end i loved the way it tied together throughout without feeling forced and always kept me guessing.

i am still thinking about how interesting the slide journal chapter was, i’ve never seen anything like it as a mode of storytelling, let alone as part of a larger body of work, and i found it super compelling.

the characters you meet throughout are interesting and well developed and i uniquely enjoyed how you could see sasha develop and change across time and from so many different perspectives. i have a feeling that some of these stories will live in my brain for a while (chapter 10, the general, the desert, silence and/or pauses)

the things that really pushed this book further for me were the thoughtful prose and the dystopian elements that resulted in a new consideration of an underlying argument. the commentary on the implications of climate change, the ubiquity of and dependence on technology (and the impact of that on the next generation), and collective safety felt nuanced and well woven. plus a desire to read it all again from the beginning after now having all the pieces.

most of what is keeping this book from 5 stars for me is the slow start, and the unsatisfying last chapter. i liked some of the issues raised in the last chapter but it felt more obtuse and forced as to wrap it up.