Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Finally finished this audiobook today. I'm not saying that in a way that is derogatory towards the book, but in a way of "I had time to finally finish!!"

Firstly, the audiobook was well done and I really enjoyed the reader.

Secondly, what an interesting book. Not so much in plot but in layout. Because it was an audiobook I couldn't flip back and forth to get things straight, so it might be easier in a real, hold-in-your-hands book. This isn't a complicated book either. What it really does is follow 2 characters, Sasha and Bennie. Bennie is a record exec who longs for the old punk rock days and Sasha is his assistant.

It sounds simple enough but the way Egan laid out their storylines was the most intriguing part of the book. Many places I was left wondering how we got to point C from point A but it usually became clear fairly quickly.

This review is sounding as confusing. Basically, we're introduced to Bennie and Sasha's lives through a series of, I'm going to say, short stories of other people's lives. These new characters somehow always connect back to Bennie or Sasha and managed to not only introduce a new character (that will show up later) but provide a substantial portion of Bennie or Sasha's life. It works amazingly well.

The characters themselves may not be amazing, some are even whiny and kind of annoying, but how the book was laid out and unfolded for the reader was worth it.

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