A review by mana_elena
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The person who recommended this book to me described it as "It's an easy read, not in the sense that it's simple but in the way that a conversation with someone you love is easy", and I think that's an excellent description for the book. I was intrigued by the fact that all but three chapters are written in third person, and about the choice for which characters got first person voice, and the strong effect of referring to one character as "you". 

I also thought it was interesting how the character we are first introduced to forms the through line for the story and especially how our initial perspective of her affects the other stories she appears in, adding some dramatic irony to other people's opinions of her. The novel doesn't have a main character, strictly speaking, but she is the main character, as far as I'm concerned.

I personally found the second to last chapter a compelling "end" to the story, but I think the author felt it was necessary/honest to have it end the way that it did. I can see how it rounds out the perspectives shared in the book. As a personal preference, though, stories set in the near future break my suspension of disbelief. Egan's predictions for the 2020's are pretty good in many respects and I think suit the tone and message of the book, I just didn't like having to "learn" a new setting in the last chapter.
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