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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Jennifer Egan’s experimental and brilliant book, A Visit From the Goon Squad came out in 2010. I hesitate to call it a novel – although it was marketed as one – because it seems to lie half way between a novel and a collection of short stories. I would probably call it a collection of interconnected short stories – but I suppose if Egan had called it that, perhaps less people would have bought it. And I’m not going to complain about anything that made more people read this book, because it’s strangely and thoroughly brilliant.
In the first story of the book, we meet Sasha, PA to the CEO of a record company, with an obsessive addiction to stealing. In the second we meet Bennie, Sasha’s boss. In the third we meet Rhea, a friend of Bennie’s from his days of teenager punk rock. In the fourth we meet Charlie, daughter of Lou, who is the boyfriend of an old friend of Rhea’s. And so on and so on. Each story is linked in some way to a character we’ve met or heard of before, often in the previous story. Sasha and Bennie crop up more than the rest, and threads of families and connections weave through these stories in the most incredibly exciting way.
Full review here: http://justbooksandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/books-visit-from-good-squad.html
In the first story of the book, we meet Sasha, PA to the CEO of a record company, with an obsessive addiction to stealing. In the second we meet Bennie, Sasha’s boss. In the third we meet Rhea, a friend of Bennie’s from his days of teenager punk rock. In the fourth we meet Charlie, daughter of Lou, who is the boyfriend of an old friend of Rhea’s. And so on and so on. Each story is linked in some way to a character we’ve met or heard of before, often in the previous story. Sasha and Bennie crop up more than the rest, and threads of families and connections weave through these stories in the most incredibly exciting way.
Full review here: http://justbooksandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/books-visit-from-good-squad.html
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it is unique and special, that those included in it are privileged and those excluded from it are missing out.”
Really kind of just a drag of a book for me. What, am I supposed to be astounded by the fact that everything is connected? The lack of character indicators at the beginning of chapters plus the sheer time it took me to finish this left me despondent since everything served to make this a hazy, unsatisfying read. I’m not really sure what the point was — that we all get old and die? Sure, I guess. This just feels like the most odd, roundabout way of saying so. Many other novels achieve this message without being as annoying or convoluted.
I don’t know, maybe I would have enjoyed this if I found any of the characters likable whatsoever, which I didn’t. A surprisingly small amount of character variation given the large cast in this novel; Egan just can’t seem to imagine more than three archetypes max. And wow, the whole “handset” and “T” thing at the end was incredibly cringe and so clearly an older person’s attempt at ridiculing a younger audience which they don’t understand or care to even try to understand. Why do so when the metaphor works better for your work anyway? At least I thrifted this book and didn’t pay full price.
Really kind of just a drag of a book for me. What, am I supposed to be astounded by the fact that everything is connected? The lack of character indicators at the beginning of chapters plus the sheer time it took me to finish this left me despondent since everything served to make this a hazy, unsatisfying read. I’m not really sure what the point was — that we all get old and die? Sure, I guess. This just feels like the most odd, roundabout way of saying so. Many other novels achieve this message without being as annoying or convoluted.
I don’t know, maybe I would have enjoyed this if I found any of the characters likable whatsoever, which I didn’t. A surprisingly small amount of character variation given the large cast in this novel; Egan just can’t seem to imagine more than three archetypes max. And wow, the whole “handset” and “T” thing at the end was incredibly cringe and so clearly an older person’s attempt at ridiculing a younger audience which they don’t understand or care to even try to understand. Why do so when the metaphor works better for your work anyway? At least I thrifted this book and didn’t pay full price.
Absolute crackerjack read.
Loved the format with interlocking lives, different perspectives, different vibes.
Loved the format with interlocking lives, different perspectives, different vibes.
A book about a bunch of punks, the music business, drugs, and growing up? Yes please. Told in a weird non-chronological way with interconnected characters narrating different portions unreliably? Sign me up. Weird space age futuristic Josie-and-the-Pussycats movie technology where everyone gets excited about music they shouldn't like, performed by a person who doesn't deserve success? Inject this straight into my veins, friend.
This was super interesting and so well-written. I thought the conclusion made the story more compelling and very satisfying.
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Three-and-a-half, really. This book made me feel thoughtful upon finishing, and I wasn't sure at first how much I really liked it. Some of the stories (more like vignettes) were lovely - quietly sad and moving. While the links and the development of the characters through others' views were fun to follow ("oh, THAT's who it is!"), it wasn't enough to stay fully engaged. The Robert chapter and the last few images of the tech-saturated near future were my favorites.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eigenlijk wel 4,5 ster. Knap en inventief, qua tijdsbeeld, over voornemens en illusie die anders uitpakken dan je kan voorzien, met de muziek (punk) scene als vertrekpunt. In de vorm, per hoofdstuk een personage, wat uiteindelijk in elkaar klikt in de tijd en samenhang. Met een verrassend hoofdstuk in de vorm van een powerpoint (ook werkend, met muziek online te vinden). En een boek waarbij het eerste en laatste hoofdstuk wel aan elkaar verbonden zijn, maar wat je qua volgorde eigenlijk zelf kan bepalen. Tot slot: prima boek voor een dag ziek in bed ;-/