Archive for November 3, 2010
A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan
In Jennifer’s Egan’s lively and inventive novel – A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD – each of its characters feels his or her mortality. Each is a in a tenuous danse-a-deux with “the goon.”
Every chapter is told from a different character’s point of view and it is no accident that the novel starts with Sasha – the assistant of music producer Bennie Salazar, one of the key focal points. Sasha has sticky fingers and is constantly pirating away meaningless objects to compose “the warped core of her life.” These objects serve as talismans, placing her at arm’s length from the love she wants.
Bennie and Sasha will never know much about each other – even though they’ve worked together for decades – but the reader comes to know them through various stories.
And Bennie? A one-time band member and arrogant indie genius, he is now one step removed from the action, adding flakes of gold to his coffee to enhance his libido and bemoaning the state of digital technology. Like Sasha, he’s at arm’s length from a direct connection with love and life in general.
November 3, 2010
Tags: Contemporary, Humorous, Knopf, Music, Near Future Posted in: Contemporary, Humorous, Reading Guide, Satire 
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