A Visit from the Goon Squad
Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times best seller Gillian Flynn, takes that statement to its darkest place in this unpausable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. Gone Girl's toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
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Community Reviews
When I saw she was coming to the Brooklyn Book Festival, I knew I had her book sitting there somewhere in my humongous pile! So far, so good
***
Excellent book. It takes us from sometime in the '70s all the way through around 2020, and not necessarily in that order. It's a little tough in the beginning because she shifts the focus to a different time and a different character in the book, but once you get used to her rhythm, it really works.
I thought the two main characters were Bennie (recording industry "mogul") and Sasha (his one-time assistant), but then the stories shift to other people who have been in and out of their lives over the years. Amazing how the author can, in one chapter, make you feel like you really know these people and can relate to them. The book is about how, ultimately, we're all visited by the "Goon Squad" (time) and we feel like it suddenly snuck up on us. Egan uses technology in a really clever way to illustrate this too.
***
Excellent book. It takes us from sometime in the '70s all the way through around 2020, and not necessarily in that order. It's a little tough in the beginning because she shifts the focus to a different time and a different character in the book, but once you get used to her rhythm, it really works.
I thought the two main characters were Bennie (recording industry "mogul") and Sasha (his one-time assistant), but then the stories shift to other people who have been in and out of their lives over the years. Amazing how the author can, in one chapter, make you feel like you really know these people and can relate to them. The book is about how, ultimately, we're all visited by the "Goon Squad" (time) and we feel like it suddenly snuck up on us. Egan uses technology in a really clever way to illustrate this too.
So, disclaimer time. This is the third in a trilogy of books about rock & roll that I've read recently and it proves that the topic is not my jam. The writing was fine, descriptive and dense in its entirety. The characters were all, perhaps by definition, shallow and needy. The situations were deplorable, if not outright depraved at times. Not for me, this book, but it might be for someone else.
Finally finished this audiobook today. I'm not saying that in a way that is derogatory towards the book, but in a way of "I had time to finally finish!!"
Firstly, the audiobook was well done and I really enjoyed the reader.
Secondly, what an interesting book. Not so much in plot but in layout. Because it was an audiobook I couldn't flip back and forth to get things straight, so it might be easier in a real, hold-in-your-hands book. This isn't a complicated book either. What it really does is follow 2 characters, Sasha and Bennie. Bennie is a record exec who longs for the old punk rock days and Sasha is his assistant.
It sounds simple enough but the way Egan laid out their storylines was the most intriguing part of the book. Many places I was left wondering how we got to point C from point A but it usually became clear fairly quickly.
This review is sounding as confusing. Basically, we're introduced to Bennie and Sasha's lives through a series of, I'm going to say, short stories of other people's lives. These new characters somehow always connect back to Bennie or Sasha and managed to not only introduce a new character (that will show up later) but provide a substantial portion of Bennie or Sasha's life. It works amazingly well.
The characters themselves may not be amazing, some are even whiny and kind of annoying, but how the book was laid out and unfolded for the reader was worth it.
Firstly, the audiobook was well done and I really enjoyed the reader.
Secondly, what an interesting book. Not so much in plot but in layout. Because it was an audiobook I couldn't flip back and forth to get things straight, so it might be easier in a real, hold-in-your-hands book. This isn't a complicated book either. What it really does is follow 2 characters, Sasha and Bennie. Bennie is a record exec who longs for the old punk rock days and Sasha is his assistant.
It sounds simple enough but the way Egan laid out their storylines was the most intriguing part of the book. Many places I was left wondering how we got to point C from point A but it usually became clear fairly quickly.
This review is sounding as confusing. Basically, we're introduced to Bennie and Sasha's lives through a series of, I'm going to say, short stories of other people's lives. These new characters somehow always connect back to Bennie or Sasha and managed to not only introduce a new character (that will show up later) but provide a substantial portion of Bennie or Sasha's life. It works amazingly well.
The characters themselves may not be amazing, some are even whiny and kind of annoying, but how the book was laid out and unfolded for the reader was worth it.
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