Jennifer Egan's spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other's pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.
We first meet Sasha in her mid-thirties, on her therapist's couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then as a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to avert the suicidal impulses of her best friend. We plunge into the hidden yearnings and disappointments of her uncle, an art …
Jennifer Egan's spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other's pasts, the reader does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs, over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples, and Africa.
We first meet Sasha in her mid-thirties, on her therapist's couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then as a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to avert the suicidal impulses of her best friend. We plunge into the hidden yearnings and disappointments of her uncle, an art historian stuck in a dead marriage, who travels to Naples to extract Sasha from the city's demimonde and experiences an epiphany of his own while staring at a sculpture of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Museo Nazionale. We meet Bennie Salazar at the melancholy nadir of his adult life -- divorced, struggling to connect with his nine-year-old son, listening to a washed-up band in the basement of a suburban house -- and then revisit him in 1979, at the height of his youth, shy and tender, reveling in San Francisco's punk scene as he discovers his ardor for rock and roll and his gift for spotting talent. We learn what became of his high school gang -- who thrived and who faltered -- and we encounter Lou Kline, Bennie's catastrophically careless mentor, along with the lovers and children left behind in the wake of Lou's far-flung sexual conquests and meteoric rise and fall.
A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones ranging from tragedy to satire to PowerPoint, Egan captures the undertow of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption; and the universal tendency to reach for both -- and escape the merciless progress of time -- in the transporting realms of art and music. Sly, startling, exhilarating work from one of our boldest writers.
The stories were interesting but I wasn't blown away by them. It was entertaining because these characters are so different from myself and the people I know, however the stories weren't very satisfying. It was very matter of fact. I wanted the stories to build on itself but the book just jumped from one character to another. I felt that there wasn't as much overlap and interaction as I wanted. Overall, it was stimulating but I didn't feel it had much of an impact on me as other books that I've enjoyed.
The stories were interesting but I wasn't blown away by them. It was entertaining because these characters are so different from myself and the people I know, however the stories weren't very satisfying. It was very matter of fact. I wanted the stories to build on itself but the book just jumped from one character to another. I felt that there wasn't as much overlap and interaction as I wanted. Overall, it was stimulating but I didn't feel it had much of an impact on me as other books that I've enjoyed.
Not completely sure how I feel about this novel. I only finished it today so perhaps a few days thinking it over will help cement my opinion. The novel is told from several standpoints, each character interacting with some of the others at a point in their lives, some more fleetingly than others. Progressing through the novel, we jump forwards and backwards in time, understanding how future events were the result of earlier ones and how the characters' relationships develop or are lost. Unfortunately, although I was impressed by individual chapters, I didn't particularly like or identify with any of the characters who, I felt, came across as shallow people.
Not completely sure how I feel about this novel. I only finished it today so perhaps a few days thinking it over will help cement my opinion. The novel is told from several standpoints, each character interacting with some of the others at a point in their lives, some more fleetingly than others. Progressing through the novel, we jump forwards and backwards in time, understanding how future events were the result of earlier ones and how the characters' relationships develop or are lost. Unfortunately, although I was impressed by individual chapters, I didn't particularly like or identify with any of the characters who, I felt, came across as shallow people.
Review of 'A visit from the Goon Squad' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A set of short stories that wind a narrative that hits a bit harder than you'd think, interrogating youth and the process of aging in a way that had me worried about the way I'm living.
A set of short stories that wind a narrative that hits a bit harder than you'd think, interrogating youth and the process of aging in a way that had me worried about the way I'm living.
Review of 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
If you've been paying attention to American literature during the past decade or so, you will know the score of this novel. If that makes you want to skip it, you're making a huge mistake. Egan takes change, growing up, constrained freedom and all those other topics that US novelists love, but deals with them in a clever form that adds another layer of meaning. More detailed reviews can be found elsewhere, let me just say that I am happy to close off my 2013 readings with something as superb as this novel.
If you've been paying attention to American literature during the past decade or so, you will know the score of this novel. If that makes you want to skip it, you're making a huge mistake. Egan takes change, growing up, constrained freedom and all those other topics that US novelists love, but deals with them in a clever form that adds another layer of meaning. More detailed reviews can be found elsewhere, let me just say that I am happy to close off my 2013 readings with something as superb as this novel.
Review of 'A visit from the Goon Squad' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The characters were interesting and likeable, I loved the way their stories were told, and the nonlinear style made it all fascinating. The way people's lives came together at certain points reminded me a little of a Quentin Tarantino movie, and there were also times when the writing put me in mind of David Foster Wallace.
Good read!
The characters were interesting and likeable, I loved the way their stories were told, and the nonlinear style made it all fascinating. The way people's lives came together at certain points reminded me a little of a Quentin Tarantino movie, and there were also times when the writing put me in mind of David Foster Wallace.
