April 05 2025, 21:52
A Visit From the Goon Squad
Author: Jennifer Egan
First published: 2010
350 pages, ~105,000 words, 13 chapters, one per character with varying points of view: Sasha, Bennie, Rhea, Charli, Jocelyn, Scottie, Stephanie, Dolly, Jules, Rob, Ted, Alison, Alex.
I wanted a novel, and this pushes the boundaries of what a novel can be, interweaving short stories over multiple decades with connected characters. It’s a work of genius, and occasionally maddening for that, because she represents some of these characters in irritating ways—for example, Alison’s story is a series of Powerpoint slides that require the book to be turned on its side. On the other hand, the range of voices and having to work out who was related to who all the time was getting tiring by Alison’s chapter, so flying through seventy-five pages was a relief.
I can only imagine Jennifer Egan had the lives of each character carefully mapped out, because the variety and number of connections between them is impressive. It opens with Sasha stealing a woman’s wallet in the company of her date, Alex. Then we meet Bennie, Sasha’s boss and record label manager, and from there the story expands until we return to Alison, Sasha’s future child, and finally Alex, Sasha's disastrous date, meeting Bennie for the first time fifteen years later.
Music and the music industry runs through all the stories. Many of the characters have made mistakes and are looking for ways through the moral fog they’ve created for themselves. If I had to say what it’s about, it’s understanding that everyone has a history that has led them to where they are, and those experiences shape who we are, and with empathy we can repair some of the damage we sustain looking for things we need in the wrong places.
There are so many interesting approaches to writing from a character’s point of view in these stories, I’ll definitely return to it when I want ideas. It’s a fizzing, beautiful thing.