Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


From Goodreads: Bennie 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. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.

My Thoughts: Having heard so much good about this book, I went in with extremely high expectations, which is always dangerous. (in fact it was my book for book club this fall). It took me a while to finish it, just because it was not at all what I expected. The format, though, was helpful in that respect, as it made it easy to put down and pick up at a later date, with each chapter almost being a short story in and of itself. I can't say I disliked the book at all, and I think Ms. Egan has a great writing style and tells a good story. I think what threw me off was that it always felt like I was left with something missing after each chapter/story. While each was loosely connected, and built upon each other to an extent to a larger picture, it wasn't your typical novel where you end up with some sort of conclusion. Once you get past that, I found it to be a book that I liked more after time had passed than I did right after immediately finishing it.


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