Naomi Weisman is the writer and editor of Nomi's Pics in our Rambler Café Blog. She is a Canadian-Australian and mother of three who loves to ramble with her dog, cook for family and friends, and laugh whenever possible.
I chose this book for a couple of reasons:
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I had read another book by Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach, and loved her storytelling style.
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I aim to read as many Pulitzer Prize-winning books as possible, though some can be a bit lofty!
I also came across a blurb written by Egan that explains why she chose to structure the book in such a unique way. I think you'll find it super interesting, as it helps to understand the book better and her thought process:
A Note from Jennifer Egan:
When I talk to audiences about how I came to write A Visit from the Goon Squad in the form it takes, someone invariably says, “I really wish I’d heard what you just said before reading the book; I would have enjoyed it more.” So, it seems worth summarizing my remarks for the benefit of book clubs—or individual readers—who haven’t yet read the book or might have read it and felt confused.
I began A Visit from the Goon Squad without a clear plan, following my own curiosity from one character and situation to the next. My guiding rules were only these:
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Each chapter had to be about a different person.
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Each chapter had to have a different mood, tone, and approach.
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Each chapter had to stand completely on its own. This last rule was especially important; since I ask readers to start over repeatedly in A Visit from the Goon Squad, it seemed the least I could do was provide a total experience each time.
In other words, you can read this book without making a single connection between any two chapters. They were written—and published—as individual pieces, apart from the book as a whole.
I didn’t think of A Visit from the Goon Squad as a novel while I was working on it; nor did I think of it as a collection of short stories. I honestly wasn’t sure what it was. Only when I found myself wanting to call its halves “A” and “B,” did I suddenly realize which genre I’d been working in all along: the concept album. By which I mean the great storytelling albums I grew up with in the 1970s: The Who’s Tommy, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. A concept album is a story told in parts that sound completely different from each other (that’s the fun of an album, right?), yet also work together.
So, as you read A Visit from the Goon Squad, don’t worry about whether you’re “getting it” or whether it’s really a novel or what connections you might have missed. None of that matters. The point is to have fun reading a tangle of stories in contrasting styles. If you’ll do that, then you’re exactly the reader I’d hoped for.
Themes to Ponder While Reading
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Time and Memory: The effect of time on the lives of characters often leaves them searching for better moments in their memories.
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Identity, Authenticity, and Meaning: The novel explores the challenges of attempting to create authentic identities.
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Ruin and Redemption: Despite experiencing ruin, many of the characters find redemption.
Questions to Guide Your Reading
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Chapter Structure and Narrative Style:
A Visit from the Goon Squad shifts between various perspectives, voices, and time periods, including a chapter (pp. 234–309) that departs from conventional narrative entirely. What does this mixture of voices and narrative forms convey about the nature of experience and memory? Why do you think Egan chose to arrange the stories out of chronological sequence? -
“Time’s a Goon” (Bosco and Bennie):
In A to B, Bosco unintentionally coins the phrase “Time’s a goon” (p. 127), which Bennie references again in Pure Language (p. 332). What do Bosco and Bennie mean by this phrase? How does Egan use it to reflect the passage of time and its impact on people? -
Therapy and Self-Reflection:
In Found Objects and The Gold Cure, we see Sasha’s and Bennie’s therapy sessions. Sasha is selective about what she shares for both her and Coz’s protection, while Bennie tries to adhere to his therapist’s guidelines (pp. 8–9, p. 24). What do these therapy sessions reveal about the characters? How do the tone and content of these sections suggest the purpose and value of therapy? -
Stand-Alone Stories and Character Engagement:
The chapters in A Visit from the Goon Squad can be read as stand-alone stories. How does this affect your engagement with individual characters and the events in their lives? Which characters or stories did you find the most compelling? By the end, do all the stories come together to form a satisfying narrative? -
Proust’s Epigraph (page ix): The Impact of Time on Identity
“Poets claim that we recapture for a moment the self that we were long ago when we enter some house or garden in which we used to live in our youth. But these are most hazardous pilgrimages, which end as often in disappointment as in success. It is in ourselves that we should rather seek to find those fixed places, contemporaneous with different years.”
How does this passage reflect the themes of the novel? What does it suggest about the difficulty of reconnecting with the past, and how does it resonate with the character's experiences in the book?
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The Future of Society in Pure Language and Great Rock and Roll Pauses:
Considering current social trends and political realities, such as fears of war and environmental devastation, evaluate the future Egan envisions in the chapters Pure Language and Great Rock and Roll Pauses. How does Egan’s portrayal of the future compare to the present-day issues we face? -
Authenticity in a Digital Age (from Pure Language):
What does Pure Language have to say about authenticity in an age dominated by technology and digital communication? How do the characters in this chapter struggle with or navigate issues of real versus virtual selves?
Conclusion
Enjoy your reading journey! Keep in mind the fluid, fragmented structure of the book and embrace the experience of exploring multiple perspectives, all tied together by shared themes and human experiences.
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