a visit from the goon squad

a visit from the goon squad
jennifer egan
fiction/contemporary
knopf
published 2010

Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive.  Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs.  Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs.  With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.

I find it interesting that people who didn't like this book complained about how it was a book of short stories and not a novel as described.  I can see how they would perceive it as such, if they didn't actually read the book.  I really, really liked the book.  It grew on me.  I wasn't sure that I would like it because I couldn't really find anything that mentioned what the book was about.  What was the plot?  Who was the main character?  But before I knew it I was sucked in and I didn't care.  I was sold.

I loved how every character was connected in some way.  I loved their stories and the glimpses into these moments in time, but sometimes I felt a little cheated that I didn't get more.  Before I knew it though, I was onto the next snippet and lost in another character's moment.  My favorite moment?  Alison's slideshow.  Oh the feels.

Did the book deserve a Pulitzer?  I have no idea.  I'm not that kind of reader.  The only other Pulitzer winning book I've read that I know of is Olive Kitteridge and I don't remember loving it that much so I'm not the best judge!  Is the book worth reading?  I think so.  I think if you go in with no expectations and just read because reading is rad you will find yourself, like I did, mesmerized.