Bears

Panda East

Horses & Wedding

Cat

The Rainbow Door of North Jersey

The Rainbow Door of North Jersey

Bird Xylophone

Fragile Up

At the Bar

On A Boat

Huckleberry Finn Books: Made in China

In the Van

Book Review: Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"She says they're precious because they're casual and meaningless." "'But they tell the whole story if you really look.'"

This book has two identities; (1) a novel (2) 13 short stories connected by a thread.

Thrown into the lives of people, mostly circling New York City, spanning a period of 50 years where change happens at an alarming rate. The dizzying cycle of "what happens next" and "what just happened". To quote John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

It's a fascinating journey, and a near metaphor, to be close and intimate with a character by knowing their sercrets (like Sasha's), their hidden potential (like Kitty Jackson's), their near-end-of-life challenges (like Bosco's), or their future (like Scotty); all the while catching glances of them in others' intimacies as side characters or focuses.

What does it mean to have morals or ideals? What does it mean to be true to yourself? What does it mean to participate in a society you're against, or you're a part of, or you're excommunicated from, or you've lost touch with?

Really, really loved this book and recommend it to anyone.



View all my reviews

On A Ship

Television

Living Room

Mission

Storms

: get back into doing push-ups in the morning… maybe; KM busts out the ice cream cake from Sunday’s symposium, chocolate on vanilla cake and it’s delicious; it’s a hot day outside; find a square plank of wood I consider to use for the yaoi project; wander into the The Container Store, meander through the closet and office sections; pestering thoughts of Subway; eat in front of computer watching Nurse Jackie; leave the house to buy a bottle of wine and wait for Modern Family; I enjoy singing and contemplate a fundraising plan involving Thirsty Alley.

The Ramp

: take the student workers to The Ramp for lunch, margaritas by the barges docked in the bay, SC and MB, CB and I; get home in time for Glee, the Rumours episode, TH brings home Volcano curry, I’m drinking wine, I call the iPad 2 commercial arrogant, get choked up over the Google Chrome “It Gets Better” commercial; I miss DW right now.

Shrine

: like a never slept at all; leftover cupcakes from the Visual Criticism Symposium; exhaustion crept in and leaves me reeling, fracturing my grammar; wait too long for the 38, doze in and out of sleep; at home, watch Glee and Fringe; CP finds me asleep on the couch; later TH, CP and I play Rock Band while she waits for A. to arrive so they can watch Game of Thrones; slowly put myself to bed, reading The Letters of Mina Harker, I use the Easter card I got from Nana and Grandpa as my bookmark.

Shoes

: finally a decent night’s rest; linger in bed reading The Letters of Mina Harker by Dodie Bellamy; leave the house in my sky blue Oakland t-shirt to get coffee and laundry detergent; Crooked Fingers: “Sleep All Summer”; today will be domestic duties; separate the darks from the brights and lug the sausage-like bag along Geary like a sailor on leave; during the wash cycle get a Bloody Mary at The Blarney Stone, watch the Giants vs. Nationals game; as I fold DW texts about going to Dolores Park; I should/I shouldn’t… I do; stop to pick up sammies and Crystal Geyser; the park is swarmed with people, bodies, and dogs; DW and I lay on a towel making fun of people as they pass by and ourselves; Overheard: “I’m always mean to the people I like. I’m just weird that way.”; do these muscle queens have jobs? Are they all escorts?; “In the event of Western Civilization meltdown, I’m coming here. This is the best view in the whole city.”; R “Miss Thing” D shows up with wine, chips & salsa; “You know, when a major natural disaster strike this town you know evacuees will be more like this than the Astro-Dome,” I say. “I got my wine, cheese and SPF, I’m all set!” DW says; we crack jokes and sing songs, Lady Ha-ha, Lady Baa-Baa, Lady Tra La La, Lady Fa La La La La La La La La, “Unbreak My Heart”; we meet our neighbors, one of whom is a Sister; the bathroom line is ages, “Go by the tracks,” DW urges. “Everyone does.” I’m skeptical and nervous of a passing train but as soon as the deep smell of urine hits me and I notice the whole stairs and decaying platform is a urinal, I go; At Marlena’s drag queens lip-sync for their life and good looking boys offer come ons; the barback slaps my hand as I reach for a lemon twist; sun goes down, DW and I walk to Deco for his strip contest; a (maybe) street man in the bar offers to buy DW and I a drink, I refuse, “I don’t lie,” he proclaims. “My mother was a pin-up and a Ziegfeld girl. My father was in the military, saw her pin-up, and searched her out!”; leave before the show, hiking up Larkin; Liz Phair on the bus, decide against getting dinner; at home make toast and peanut butter, chat with TH, watch the short they made, finish folding laundry, take a shower, go to sleep.