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Raksha posted an update in the group
Autostraddle Summer Book Club 2011 12 years ago Yesterday I finished A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (288 pages).
Someone else in this here club read this book and I thought it sounded interesting. And it was! I love stories that weave together, where the main character in one storyline is a minor player in another, and that was what this book was all about. Egan doesn’t do it in quite the same intricate, delicate manner that Catherynne Valente does (still my favorite), but it’s still quite compelling. I liked starting a new chapter and trying to figure out who the main character was in the previous chapters’ stories and where in time we were for this particular chapter. It was like a mini-game.
The vision of the future she presents in the last chapter is really believable, and I found it incredibly depressing for some reason. I wanted to punch Lulu in the throat. Still, a good book on the whole.
I loved that book.
was that maybe me? glad you enjoyed it too! maybe I should check out Valente?
You should definitely check out Valente! The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden and The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice (which are really just one big story broken up into two volumes) are masterpieces of the interweaving storyline thing. So, so good.
Her Prester John books also use that storytelling convention, but since only the first one (Habitation of the Blessed) has been published so far, you might want to wait. I got that one for Christmas last year, devoured it, then was in AGONY when I realized I’d have to wait a whole year for the next part!