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The Goon Squad

My review of "A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD" by Jennifer Egan


“What is a “Goon Squad”?

“I don’t know yet, maybe the book is about a bunch of weird people, with goon-like qualities.”

“Nah, can’t be just that.  There must be some other reason for a unique title as that.”

A little less than halfway through the book, an aging, has-been rocker seeking a comeback of sorts is urging his publicist to document and publicize his life.  He wants to expose every last humiliation, as he remarks, “Time’s a goon, right?  Isn’t that the expression?” 

So it’s TIME, is it?  Time is a goon -- and not just one goon, but a squad of them.  I never heard that expression.  I wonder -- did Ms. Egan make it up?  

I wouldn’t be surprised if she did.  Egan’s book is innovative: the chapters, dance back and forth through decades, characters, settings and plots, circling the reader, challenging us to keep track of events, people, situations.  

She makes us think, delights us with her remarkable imagination, and gets into the mind of every character without falsity. Egan is uncannily in tune with her characters, as she narrates their voices, male or female, with astonishing veracity.

There is a captivating scene at the end of the book where Alex is fantasizing about a vague experience he had with Sasha, some 20 years earlier:

“Alex imagined walking into her apartment and finding himself still there – his young self, full of schemes and high standards, with nothing decided yet.”

Time is an elusive goon, placing us where we are now, taking us away from where we were, merely by way of our decisions and the clock’s inevitable ticking.  

Comments

Julie Klein said…
Please join the Gotham Book Club on June 15th at 1:00 p.m. to chat with JENNIFER EGAN about her Pulitzer-Prize winning book, "A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD" at
http://www.gothamnetworking.com/goth/index.php/books/

Anyone may participate!
June 8, 2011 at 12:50 PM
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