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cover
3.5 

Title: Visit from the Goon Squad, A
Authors: Egan, Jennifer
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 351
Year: 2010
Publisher: Random House
Language: English
Description: Bennie Salazar, an aging music producer and Sasha, his troubled employee are at the centre of a coterie of characters revolving around the New York music industry. Told from multiple points of view and shifting time frames, it captures and examines modern America in all its glory and dysfunction.

Both sad and funny, it is a perceptive and rewarding read highlighting the influence of music and technology in our lives. [Larger font]

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2011.

Comments from Groups:

Enjoyed the unusual structure to the book and interwoven lives. ..felt it was a book we could recommend to a lot of different people. Christchurch 299

General opinion was that this is an odd style of writing, a bit difficult to keep track of who is doing what with who. It could be a good book to read in a single sitting. Tauranga 037

Totally divided. The narrative structure proved challenging for some, while others found the form interesting and enlightening. Reefton 001

An interesting insight into different paths that life takes. Highlight for those who read [the book] - powerpoint presentation by 12-year-old daughter and lessons on how to communicate with your teenage children. Katikati 002

Categories: Fiction, The Arts, Award winner, Relationships, Science & Technology, America, Larger font

Reviews

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By: WAIKA 008 2021-11-05 11:20:54
3 
Very mixed!! Majority disliked - mainly the 'form of narration' and 'jumpyness' of time and complex storylines... Those who liked it, liked it because of those reasons!

By: WHAKA 011 2021-11-05 10:25:57
4 
A good example of the "post-modern".

By: DUNED 019 2021-11-05 10:24:10
3 
Mixed responses - some of us loved it, others didn't finish it. I thought it was great!

By: GOVER 001 2021-11-05 10:22:57
3 
Flashes of brilliance in her writing. Not an easy read though - we didn't think the structure of the vignettes really came together. A challenging read.

By: CHCH 099 2021-11-05 10:20:01
3.5 
An interesting book, with comments from our nine members that ranged from "didn't like it at all", "found it frustrating working out the characters" to "found it interesting and quirky" and "really loved it". At times it's funny then sad; it's a challenging novel if the reader prefers a more traditional style of writing. As a group we had mixed views on whether we would recommend it. This is a book that will only appeal to readers that are prepared to accept that not all novels have a straightforward and chronological plot, as it asks the reader to constantly shift and change.

By: MAST 008 2021-11-03 14:55:33
4 
An unusual book. Most of the group read it twice, having not enjoyed it or understood it the first time, then loving it the second time. The style was different, but very clever and funny. A few members wrote it off without reading it.

By: AUCK 172 2021-11-03 14:53:15
3.5 
4 out of 10 members disliked this book. Didn't "get it". The others raved about it! Very polarising!

 
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