It's appropriate that I read [b:Cloud Atlas 49628 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170360941s/49628.jpg 1871423] not long ago. That novel and A Visit from the Goon Squad share some similarities in structure: both are essentially a set of short stories, each in a different style, that are all connected in some way. Ultimately, I have to say that I enjoyed Cloud Atlas more than Goon Squad.The main difference between the two is the purpose that the structure and style serves. In Cloud Atlas, the structure made me curious as to how the stories would end up connecting to each other. The changes in style worked because they suited the different settings of each story.In Goon Squad, conversely, the structure and style work against the story. The point-of-view change in each chapter makes it difficult to connect to any one character. By the time you get to know a character, their story is pretty much over and we're on to the next one. It didn't help that most of the characters were expressing the same dissatisfaction and sadness over getting old. I know that aging and the passage of time are the themes of the book, but it got a little monotonous because everyone in the story is filled with angst and regret.I respect Egan's writing style for the most part; she definitely expresses ideas very creatively. However, I think she overdoes it in a couple of chapters. The chapter about Rob is narrated in the second person. I don't think there's any reason for it, other than to do something different. It's almost like she wrote it in first person and then simply replaced every “I” with “you.” I kept forgetting that it was narrated this way and had to reorient myself every time I came across the word “you.”The other chapter that bothered me was the PowerPoint chapter, supposedly a presentation put together by a 12-year-old girl. It's almost a shame because I found the girl's autistic brother to be interesting. The brother is obsessed with pauses in songs, and I thought it was a cool concept. Unfortunately, that distinctive character was masked by the quirky format for the chapter.Overall, I didn't really enjoy the book. I admire the technique and writing style, but the lack of an end-to-end narrative and some overly gimmicky sections took me out of it.
A bit disappointing because it is dominated by ideas over characters. “The Little Kingdom of J. Franklin Payne” from [b:Little Kingdoms 229581 Little Kingdoms Steven Millhauser https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403175298l/229581.SY75.jpg 1117182] hit me emotionally, and nothing in this book had the same effect.
I read this after enjoying the TV series. The book is good, but I must say the TV show does a pretty good job of covering it. I was able to gloss over some of the more descriptive parts of the book because I had already seen the visual representation and so already had a mental image.
The real test will be when I read the next book, which I want to do before the second season of the show comes out...
200 Books
See all
