Book Five: A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan



Yay! Such a good book! So good! Did I mention it's good? Funny thing, though: I got nearly half way through before I realized I had read an excerpt from the book in the New Yorker a couple of years ago (the chapter called "Safari"). I don't read a lot of fiction in the New Yorker, but I do recall being very into that story. You know, the kind that you can't stop thinking about even weeks later. It stands on its own as a short story, but within the structure of the book it says so much. I suppose the way all the chapters of this novel do.

I just loved how the interconnected stories jump in time and place, aging or de-aging characters and shifting perspectives, and yet each person is so very recognizable when you get to meet them again. That's due to the very clever crafting by Ms. Egan, in making such vivid people who you feel like you actual know. And what's even better is the way that as new characters are introduced, you don't just get to know them, but their relationships with the characters you have already met make them feel even clearer and more well-defined.

I admit, was taken aback by the ending. I'm not sure I liked the vision of the future that was painted, but the more I think on it, the less it bothers me. In fact, it just makes more sense. It's been a while since I've read a contemporary novel that I loved this much.