Reviews

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

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teadiprima's review against another edition

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.