A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan's brilliant (and Pulitzer Prize Winning) A Visit from the Goon Squad is simply fantastic. It is a novel about life, love, failure, success and the constant ups-and-downs of modern living. This book is so powerful it kept me glued to it's pages. I was unable to do anything else, except read.

I have heard many a story about the brilliance of this book, it was published in 2010 and has been snowballing those awards until it's grand finale in 2011 when the Pulitzer dropped its own hat and bowed down in amazement. All of a sudden this book was an international must-read and I kind of missed it, so here I am a few years later devouring it in one sitting.

I almost find it difficult to describe this book, but here goes:

Crudely you could say this is a book about the music industry, it does have many characters who work in the industry, but I would have to say that this is just a book about life, the music industry is just a handy tool to further illustrate Egan's point. There are many overlapping themes and repetitions about youth, anger, fear, growing up, cruelty and the desire to preserve ourselves, our lives, our past. Nostalgia is a sign of decline while moving with the times can be terrifying, you can feel yourself getting lost. Each character/chapter brings with it it's own insight into different characters, each trying to be 'the survivors'.

Sasha is the first character we meet, she is sitting on a couch talking to her therapist, trying desperately to work out her impulse control issues, while regaling the reader with a blind date story. The next chapter jumps back in time to Bennie (Sasha's old boss) and his fears of getting older, losing something he once had, not being able to connect with his son, looking back over his own failures and embarrassments.

This is just a brief introduction into the characters you meet in Egan's wonderfully crafted novel. They are flawed human beings, people who are going through something, people who feel like they will never succeed. With incredible skill Egan takes us on a wild ride, jumping between time periods, characters and even narrative styles (you have all heard about the PowerPoint slide chapter). What is astounding is that she doesn't lose her touch. She is just as convincing as a 10 year old girl as she is a 43 year old man. With each chapter Egan delves a little deeper into the collective character storyline, weaving an incredibly interconnected narrative.

I could go on and tell you all my favourite parts, but I feel that you should read it yourself. There is so much to say about this moving and brilliant book, so many points where I clutched the book or when I was so overcome I nearly couldn't keep reading. It was a book that made me laugh, gasp and nearly cry. An inherently wise and beautiful book that I most highly recommend.