Visit from the Goon Squad

1290 Words6 Pages
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan tells a story that spans of about four decades from various points of view, and in a non linear timeline. The story is infused with the rock and roll of the characters as they struggle to grow and make a place for themselves in this world in different points of their lives. The disjointed structure of the chapters from both a temporal and narrative standpoint allows Egan to play with time and the gaps between events in the characters lives to give them all opportunity when they think they are on the outs. The title of A Visit From the Goon Squad implies that the revolving set of characters are what make up the goon squad. The characters in this book are all in some way connected to the pop music business in ways that range from being an old washed up rock star to the assistant to a major record producer. This group of people has at various times in their lives succumbed to their vices and their personal weaknesses in a way that at times makes them pretty terrible people. However, the goon squad is actually the central metaphor in the novel representing how time can beat down and destroy things throughout the novel. “Times a Goon” is a phase that is repeated three times though out the book when characters feel old and useless as a lamentation on their life. The characters see time as a bad guy that will not allow them to do more when they have lost some of their former prowess. But there is more to that. There is the pause; the gap between periods of high where the characters believe everything is lost but is not yet the end. The importance of the pause in is built upon by the somewhat autistic son, Lincoln, of Sasha, the former assistant to Bennie, who is about as close to a main character that this sporadic narrative can produce. Lincoln is obsessed with pauses in great rock and roll songs. His preoccupation with
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