needed a map

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: Is it a novel? Short stories? A series of linked vignettes? A novel in stories?  Does it matter?  Not to me.  Call it what you will, A Visit from the Goon Squad is an excellent reading experience.  The goon squad of the title is time, and the chapters collectively tell a story of how time sometimes heals all wounds and sometimes ravages.

In 13 chapters, Egan gives us 13 characters, all of whom are linked to either Sasha or Bennie.  In the first chapter, we are introduced to Sasha, the 20-something assistant to bennie, a music producer whose career may or may not be coming to an end.  Bennie gets the next chapter, but at a very different time of his life.  Rhea knew Bennie in high school, which is when she met Lou, who got Bennie started in the industry.  And it goes on from there, with characters weaving in and out of each other's lives, and the story weaving back and forth in time.

I literally needed a map to keep everyone and their assorted connections straight in my head, but it was worth it.  Give this book to fans of everything from David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas to The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.

on the road again

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: historical fiction

Review: When an author's first book is good, a reader has high hopes for the 2nd, which, unfortunately, often disappoints.  Not so with Amor Towles, whose second book (A Gentleman in Moscow) was, in my opinion, even better than the first (Rules of Civility).  But one could be forgiven for being even more nervous about his third book.  He can't possibly keep this up, right?  But one should have more faith.  The Lincoln Highway will not disappoint.

Towles is very upfront in telling readers that he wants each of his books to be different from the others.  Once again, he has succeeded, at least as far as subject matter and character go.  But he can't disguise his writing, so fans will still know it's a Towles book, and I think all will agree that it's a worthy addition to his card catalog entry.  I'm excited to see what "something different" he comes up with next.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.