A Visit from the Goon Squad

by Jennifer Egan

Time’s a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?
(p. 269)

Yes, that’s right; it took almost the entire novel for me to understand the title of this novel. Oh well. It’s really not surprising, as I’d have a difficult time describing this novel to anyone.

Let’s see. . . we have two main characters: Bennie and Sasha. Bennie Salazar is an aging record executive and former musician. Sasha is the young woman who works for Bennie and has a problem with stealing.

Throughout the book, we will revisit these two in chapters that really are short stories. We visit them at different times in their lives. Between those visits, we meet other characters connected to either Bennie or Sasha.

The more I think about it, the more I think that this novel should have been published as a short story collection. The style is beyond non-traditional, and the reader is forced to stop and try to recall the story behind each character when he/she resurfaces.

Time is a goon, isn’t it?

This novel definitely doesn’t live up to all of the hype and accolades, but I still enjoyed reading it.

8/6/11