A Visit from the Goon Squad
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.9
(1.0K)
Jennifer Egan
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE WINNER • With music pulsing on every page, this startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption “features characters about whom you come to care deeply as you watch them doing things they shouldn't, acting gloriously, infuriatingly human” (The Chicago Tribune).One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 YearsBennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. “Pitch perfect.... Darkly, rippingly funny.... Egan possesses a satirist’s eye and a romance novelist’s heart.” —The New York Times Book Review
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More Details:
Author
Jennifer Egan
Pages
288
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Date
2010-06-08
ISBN
0307593622 9780307593627
Community ReviewsSee all
"A rumination on the passing of time that’s equal parts pragmatic and sentimental, regretful and hopeful. An occasionally heartbreaking, often electrifying, and always sobering reminder that time’s right on your heels, and the only direction is forward."
Gordon
"Non-linear storytelling drops you into the lives of characters who are flawed and fascinating and somewhat unlikeable. Egan shares glimpses of their lives through interlocking chapters that show how they know each other (or just spend time together) at different moments in life. "
NZ
"A series of interlocking stories involving a dozen or so characters and their connections to the contemporary New York music scene. Meandering back and forth in time from the late 1970s to 2021, each vignette spotlights a co-worker, friend, relative or competitor of one of the 2 lead protagonists: former punk rock guitarist, turned indie record producer Bennie Salazar, and his kleptomaniac assistant Sasha. Music and its power to form community and identity is a common theme across many of the stories, as is the randomness of success, and the cruel inevitability of aging and loss. Egan has a deft touch with characterization and setting; she knows how to point up her characters' foibles while retaining a deep humane empathy for them."
Lesley Williams
"A Visit from the Goon Squad is definitely unique. It is closer to a short story collection of interconnected tales than a novel. Each of the thirteen chapters follows a different protagonist and is written is a different style. The three chapters that stood out the most to me are "X's and O's", "Great Rock and Roll Pauses", and "Pure Language". The rest were rather meh."
Ricki Marking-Camuto
"The characters were so real, witty and sad, the plot was so creative."
Kaity Hammerstein
"Creative stricture, uncomfortable at times, but overall fun read. "
Reid Smith
"It’s quite sad to read about people decay"
Valeriya Verveda
"I really enjoyed this book. The constantly changing perspective was hard for me to follow until I read about the book on the internet then literally kept a list of the characters introduced. It was smart and fun... I imagine I'll read many of the chapters again as they could stand individually as short stories. It definitely makes me want to read more of Egan's work."
S K
Suzanne Koebler
"What a journey this book is. It's such an intelligent and creative piece. The structure, the characters, the chapters... it's all beautifully crafted. It's no wonder this book won so many awards. Egan's talents really reflect on every page. Each detail of this book is so clever. Definitely recommend. "
M D
Mauricio De Leon
"Amazing story with a surprisingly easy to follow time jumping narrative "
J B
Joshua Berg
