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Aug
31
Book Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Published June 2010 by Knopf
Lovers of the linear narrative and start-at-point-A-and-end-at-point-B story beware! Jennifer Egan is back, and she’s not messing around.
A Visit from the Goon Squad is a collection of interconnected stories (a format I have grown to love) that move back and forth in time, from one character to the next and back again, and appear in first-, second-, and third-person narration. And there’s a chapter written entirely as a PowerPoint slideshow.
It begins with Sasha, who steals another woman’s wallet in the restroom of a restaurant while her date waits at the bar. Then we meet Sasha’s boss Bennie, a high-powered music producer who shakes gold flakes into his coffee with hopes that they will make him more virulent. And then it’s a flashback to Bennie’s highschool years, presented from the perspective of his friend Rhea. We see the party at which Bennie meets his future mentor Lou.
And then it’s 1973, and Lou is in Africa with his girlfriend Mindy. Are you starting to get the picture? As Frederick Reiken said in a guest post here last week:
It is as if we’ve clicked a link in each story, which then takes us to the next one.
The book takes its title from a conversation in which one character tells the other, “Time’s a goon,” and as we move in and out of stories, toward and away from characters, we realize that Egan is both playing with this concept and commenting on it. Her present-day characters live in our world, where relationships–and the stories that accompany them—often have no clear ending because they can be unexpectedly resumed and reshaped at any moment with the click of a button (namely that “send friend request” button we’re all so familiar with). Sure, each character in this innovative novel has a beginning point and an ending point, but the distance between them is not defined by a straight line.
We–and Egan’s characters—experience time linearly/chronologically, but we rarely remember it that way. The stories of our lives are not so much point A to point B as they are winding narratives, and the technology and media we use to tell our stories, often as they are unfolding, shapes the way we experience and perceive them.
There’s much more to it than that, though. There are beautiful sentences like, “Mindy’s body is slender and elastic; she could slip through a keyhole, or under a door.” And there’s examination of memory and exploration of our desire to remember ourselves in certain ways, and there is acknowledgment of the ways in which this desire leads us to reconstruct moments and memories to fit our purposes. (This is probably a good place to mention that the book’s epigraph comes from Proust’s In Search of Lost Time.)
The last chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad is, simply put, ballsy. Gutsy. Bold. Egan flashes forward about a decade into the future to wonder aloud about the effects technology will have on how we communicate and the language we’ll use to do it and what will happen in a world where no one ever really loses touch with anyone. It is shocking and frighteningly possible and a little bit exciting, and it just might make your brain explode…but in a very pleasing way.
The stories in this novel are connected, but they are not pieces of puzzle, and if you read them looking for a way to construct a single whole picture, you’ll just be missing the point. And you’ll be horribly confused. By experimenting with format, narrative structure, narrative voice, point-of-view, time, and, well, another handful or two of writing techniques, Egan succeeds in not only telling several people’s stories but forcing readers to think about how we take in moments as they occur and how we reshape them when we talk about them later. She pushes the boundaries of contemporary fiction and gives us an entirely fresh (and refreshing) reading experience, and I’m just going to stop talking about it now and tell you that if you’re the kind of reader who doesn’t need a straight narrative and a clean ending, you don’t want to miss A Visit from the Goon Squad.
Official verdict: A Visit from the Goon Squad is pantyworthy, without a doubt, and likely to make the top five for the year.
Check out Jennifer Egan’s website for a further look into the creative mind behind this fabulous book.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by K Bair O'Keeffe, Rebecca Schinsky. Rebecca Schinsky said: Book Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan http://goo.gl/fb/ISduW [...]
First of all, I would like to be type of person that could slip through a keyhole. Sadly, I think that day came and went when I hit puberty. So, top five of the year huh? I don’t mind a linear narrative, but I don’t need it. Did you see Inception? I dig that kind of thing. If this book places itself in my path, I shall not turn my head.
Sandy´s last [type] ..Sunday Salon- The Big Grabowski
Great review, Rebecca. I read two of JE’s earlier novels while on vacation a month or so ago and I have been desperate to get my hands on this one ever since – now I’m just even more desperate! One of the most impressive things about her – apart from the sheer, blissful quality of the sentences she puts together – is her continued willingness to try new things and to keep challenging both herself and the reader. We need more like her.
Alex George´s last [type] ..When Musical Genres Attack
I read her first novel LOOK AT ME several years ago and somehow missed THE KEEP, which I assume you’re referring to here….guess it’s equally good, so I’ll have to pick it up soon. Thanks for the rec!
Yes, THE KEEP is fabulous. Highly recommended. If you ever read John Fowles’s THE MAGUS, which is one of my all-time favorites, you’ll love this. I did a sort of a mini-review/gush about both books here: http://alexgeorgebooks.com/new-reading-emily-st-john-mandel-and-jennifer-egan/
Alex George´s last [type] ..When Musical Genres Attack
All I can say is, this is an amazing review! You capture the flavor of this indescribable book perfectly, and I’m tempted to make a copy of the review and place it next to GOON SQUAD in The Bookstore. After reading the book, I have THE KEEP at the top of my TBR and I can’t wait to read it. Again, I don’t mean to gush, but I loved this review! I just have not been able to describe to anyone why I liked this book so much-you’ve done it.
[...] original here: Book Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan | The … This entry was posted in Books and tagged jennifer-egan, knopf, knopf-lovers, linear, [...]
I generally do like a clear-cut ending, but when the book’s structure is different that’s no longer important – and I love the sound of the structure here! When stories flip forward in time and you don’t know it’ll happen it’s annoying but if it’s a constant thing then it’s something to look forward to. I’m very glad to have read your review and thus discovered the book!
So glad to hear you loved it! I’ve had this on my list since she did an interview with Narrative Magazine and it sounds fascinating.
Thanks so much, Sue! You know that means a lot coming from you. I will definitely be cutting & pasting sections from this onto my shelftalkers at Fountain, and you’re welcome to use it if you want.
I really enjoyed Egan’s last novel, The Keep, but had been waffling on whether to read this one because the descriptions I have read sounded less than promising as far as my personal interest in the plot went. But your more style- and form-focused review reminds me of the things I liked about her other work and makes me much more confident about enjoying this one too. Great review.
nicole´s last [type] ..Fairhaven and Captain Slocum
Great review. Totally agree about the final chapter. Blew. Me. Away.
FYI – JE’s first novel is INVISIBLE CIRCUS. Very different from her others & well worth reading. It was a direct inspiration for writing my novel. And, her very first publication, the story collection EMERALD CITY, is also great. The more I read of her, the more I’m impressed by the different choices she makes – in voice, structure, convention – in every project.
LOOK AT ME wasn’t the first? I had no idea! Thanks for the enlightenment…and the added titles for my TBR.
I am so not a romance book reader, but based on a book blogger’s recommendation a couple of months back, I picked up a specific Jude Deveraux novel from the 1980′s. Last night, I read the whole danged thing in one sitting and found myself loving the humor (ok, laughing out loud at the funny parts) and even a tad misty at the corny ending. I loved it.
Michele@A Reader’s Respite´s last [type] ..RIP
[...] Book Lady’s Blog has two interesting posts: One is a review of A Visit from The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and an interview with Adam Ross, author of Mr. [...]
[...] happy to see Jennifer Egan’s gutsy and gorgeous work of experimental literary fiction A Visit From the Goon Squad make the list. Egan deserves the recognition and should have been nominated for the National Book [...]
[...] A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan I’ve been seeing this described as a collection of short stories, but I’m more inclined to go with “experimental literary fiction.” Egan plays with time, structure, narrative voice (there are sections in first, second, and third person POV), and as Frederick Reiken said, it’s as if we’ve clicked a link in each story that moves us on to the next. A Visit from the Goon Squad is the ultimate nonlinear novel, and it really is just as playful as it is bold, just as whimsical as it is substantial. And it is a knockout. Do yourself a favor and put it on your holiday wish list ASAP. [...]
[...] some much more articulate and interesting reviews, I suggest checking The Book Lady’s Blog, Devourer of Books, and [...]
Love your comparisons of the book’s structure to hyperlinks and Facebook. I hadn’t thought of that.
Patti’s Pages´s last [type] ..A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan
[...] Spin or Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. It is not an A to B store, as the Book Lady explains here. It is more of a collection of short stories of different characters that are all connected in a [...]
[...] Some helpful internet references for A Visit From the Goon Squad: Ready When You Are, C.B.: A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad | IndieBound Book Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan | The Book Lady’s Blog [...]
Love the rating system, although I’m not sure I’d agree that this is pantyworthy. Although I found it innovative, I also found it messy, self-consciously cool, and full of characters that I didn’t care a jot about. Glad you enjoyed it, look forward to reading more.
Matthew (@thebibliofreak)´s last [type] ..Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog – “. . . Egan succeeds in not only telling several people’s stories but forcing readers to think about how we take in moments as they occur and how we reshape them when we talk about them later.” [...]