Reviews

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

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fabydemar's review against another edition

4.0

Romanzo moderno che sfuma nel distopico. E' bello l'intreccio delle vite raccontate come in una catena, la musica il filo conduttore. Molto carino il capitolo con le slide. Scritto veramente bene, brava J. Egan!

abbyprinceatwood's review against another edition

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3.0

3.75 stars. A true collection of short stories with loose connections throughout to other characters. If you’re a reader that doesn’t like linear story, get over it and read this. Even the chapter of a child’s PowerPoint has lovely breadcrumbs to other story lines.

jjoyce54's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious 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

2.75

drossg's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Whatever it’s literary bonafides (I’ll leave that to the pros) this book is just very cool. If I had read it in high school I would have been obsessed with it. The stories set in the past made me think of Douglas Copeland, while others (particularly “Selling the General” and “Pure Language”) remind me of George Saunders. The last three chapters are my favorite, and however gimmicky “Great Rock and Roll Pauses by Alison Blake” may be criticized, it is also the most poignant.

teadiprima's review against another edition

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5.0

A Visit From the Goon Squad was FANTASTIC. A polyphonic novel on a cast of characters loosely centered around Bennie and Sasha, an ex punk star turned big time music exec and his clepto assistant. Each story has a unique structure and prose, so no one story blends in to the others.
Instead, each is able to stand completely on its own. Each story, while self sufficient, is also intricately woven into the others so they all follow one collective thread, the question Eagan attempts to answer with each passing story: What happens when we look back on our lives? When time comes for us, who are we? Are we the people we always thought we would be?
Some stand outs: The safari chapter, the concert chapter, the entire chapter structured as a PowerPoint presentation, and ESPECIALLY, ending the book in the same place it began but many years later.
Genius.

noesbookishthings's review against another edition

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3.0

I really liked this book, but there was something missing. I liked that all of the characters' lives intertwined, but there were so many of them, they were never fully developed. I wanted to know more about almost all of them. it was like she had fifteen different ideas, but never fully developed any of them. At the same time, I can't lie, I couldn't put it down. I really wanted to give it three and a half stars.