K's Korner: A Visit From the Goon Squad

Krushangi Maisuria is a regular contributor to Fairfield HamletHub and the Editor of HamletHub's Teen Times. In this installment, she reviews a remarkable book, "A Visit From the Goon Squad", released in March 2011 by Jennifer Egan. The publication has been honored as a National Bestseller, National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist and a New York Times Book Review Best Book. It has been described as an "exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption".

First of all, the title is amazing. It's fresh and unique, and immediately pulls the reader in. In this case, the goon squad is meant to symbolize 'time.' Basically, the title is almost saying 'A Visit From Time.'

Now, who can't relate to that? Time is an overarching theme in everyone's life and, because of that, everyone has been affected by time, whether negatively or positively, or a blend of both.

The most unique thing about the book is the structure. In fact, each of the 13 chapters can be read as stand-alone short stories. In each chapter, the narrative shifts from character to character, from perspective to perspective, from story to story. It's stunning, attention-grabbing and plain old unbelievable how wildly different the characters are, yet how intricately their lives are woven together.

A Visit From The Goon Squad spans about 40 years, but it's not a linear sequence. The reader is thrust forward into the future and pulled back into the past, into a time before some of the main characters were even born.

The characters are tangible because they make a plethora of mistakes. A good example is Sasha, who is a kleptomaniac. They feel human; they feel like your next-door neighbors.

Lastly, everything is wrapped under a heavy music theme. Some characters work in the music industry; lyrics and beats are their lives because they never want the song to end.

One of my favorite quotes was from Bosco, who says, "I don't want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art." This unique perspective on death is intriguing. Don't we all want to leave beautiful memories in our wake, a golden legacy?

Basically, this book is a mosaic of reality and dreams, woven together through fate and colorful conversation.