Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.
Grateful and Thrilled that GOON SQUAD has somehow remained in the conversation after ten years:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Best Book of Decade
Time Magazine: 10 Best Books of Decade
ELLE: 15 Books that Defined the 2010s
Philadelphia Inquirer: 20 Best Books of the Decade
VOX: 19 Best Books of Decade
Literary Hub: The Best 20 Novels of the Decade
Visit the archived website for this book
“Each [chapter] has its own language, its own tropes and terms, which Egan somehow manages to use and skewer at the same time, while maintaining the mystery that makes each person unique and worth knowing.”
National Post (Canada), 1/10/12
“When finally I read the first pages, I was transfixed. For the next 36 hours I found all other activities bothersome because they took me away from this marvellous book.”
Pop Matters, 2/21/12
“I don’t like this so called high brow versus commercial dichotomy because I feel it isolates both camps in an area that I’m guessing no one particularly wants to be in.”
Seattle Met, 1/26/12
“I just love not being attached to a machine…Maybe I lose something in terms of velocity, but I think I gain it in terms of freedom.”
BookTalk (UK) 1/10/12
“It feels like I am seizing upon details that suggest to me a life I don’t necessarily know, but is out there and has integrity. I could pursue it if I wanted to, but my goal is to keep my eye on this larger vision.”