Chapter One: Found Objects
The story begins centered on Sasha, a woman in her mid thirties who struggles with her obsession of stealing. We first see Sasha is on a rather boring date with a man named Alex. When she takes a trip to the bathroom we see further her obsession with stealing as she lusts over a wallet that is left on the floor while another woman is using the restroom. We are taken into another part in time where Sasha speaks to her therapist, Coz, about how to handle her obsession with stealing. Through out the chapter Sasha reflects on the things Coz has told her to help manage her impulsions. However she chooses to ignore this, and takes a leap and steals the wallet anyway. As Alex and Sasha are exiting the restaurant, the woman chases after them exclaiming she has lost her wallet. Sasha immediately feels dread as Alex begins to help her find the wallet. Torn between what to do next, Sasha plays along and runs into the bathroom to return the wallet where she found it. The woman catches Sasha putting the wallet back, but to Sasha's surprise she does not mention the theft, and let's Sasha go. Alex and Sasha head back to Sasha's apartment where they have sex and Alex then takes a bath in her bathtub. Sasha rummages through Alex's wallet where she finds a note that says "I believe in you"
We are opened up first to Sasha in this book, who we later realize is the one major person connecting the characters in this entire story. The chapter mainly focuses on Sasha's kleptomaniac tendencies, which we learn later on fired her from her job with Bennie Salazar. Her obsession with stealing is an attempt to fill an empty hole with in her however despite all her efforts, she has trouble finding her true fulfillment.
Chapter Two: The Gold Cure
The focus shifts to Bennie Salazar, Sasha’s boss at the music production studio. Bennie and Sasha visit a band called the Stop/Go Sisters in order to listen and record their music for marketing purposes. They remark afterwards how music has changed over time and how it isn’t as enjoyable as it used to, referring to the alterations in the music business as an “aesthetic holocaust” (p. 23). At this point in time, Bennie is a divorcee with a nine-year-old son, Chris. Bennie has seemingly lost his sexual appetite, though he desperately wants it back, and employs ancient “remedies” such as putting gold flakes in his coffee. Bennie continuously tries to find something sexual in Sasha, but he can only see her in a platonic light, rather than sexual. One day for fun, he shares his gold flakes with Chris and Sasha, calling it medicine for headaches. Bennie has an ongoing list of events he regrets from his life which all have backstories, including “Kissing Mother Superior”, and when Sasha finds it, she believes them to be song titles. When Sasha leaves for the day, she kisses Bennie on the cheek, and he describes it as a kiss between “brother and sister, mother and son”, showcasing the true nature of their relationship.
This is the first true introduction we have for Bennie, who becomes a major character throughout the book. By describing his longing for sexual connections, it also implies the importance of general human relationships and how fulfilling they are. However, Bennie’s desperation to regain that part of himself also shows how people try to be what is thought of as “normal” to most people. Bennie’s list of regrets is a perfect example of how people never seem to let go of the past, even though years and even decades have passed.
Chapter Three: Ask Me If I Care
Chapter 3 takes place in 1979 and is narrated by Rhea, an old friend of Bennie’s from his high school days. We are introduced to the members of their band, “The Flaming Dildos”: Rhea, Jocelyn, Scotty, and Alice. Rhea is very insecure about her looks and personality, and spends a lot of time comparing herself with Alice and Jocelyn, who she clearly thinks highly of. The chapter follows the band members and their relationships with one another. Rhea likes Bennie, who has a crush on Alice, who fancies Scotty, who loves Jocelyn. Jocelyn loves Scotty as a brother, but is too taken with Lou, the middle-aged man she is involved with both romantically and sexually. Rhea and Jocelyn have shared many previous experiences, and Rhea desires to know everything about Jocelyn’s relationship with Lou so they can be “equal” in experience.
This chapter focuses less on plot progressions and more about understanding the newly introduced characters and their backgrounds. Rhea is a character who stays predominantly in the background, so it makes sense that she would narrate the chapter in such a way. Many of the characters come up again, so it’s important that the audience is able to understand their pasts. She continuously questions is she is a “real” punk, due to her freckles, and contemplates what makes a true “punk”; whether it’s due to external opinions and judgment, or self-perception.
Chapter Four: Safari
I.Grass-This chapter is set in Africa focused on Lou in his thirties and his girlfriend Mindy who are sitting around a bonfire with their son Rolph and daughter Charlie. Rolph then begins recalling when Mindy and Lou took them to Hawaii for vacation. Then Samburu warriors arrive at the scene, one who particularly caught Charlie's attention a day prior. This warrior begins dancing to drums and singing, meanwhile her father looks on frustrated. Charlie then makes eye contact with the nineteen year old warrior, the author then makes a narrative shift to the year 2008 where the warrior has 4 wives and sixty-three grandchildren, Joe one of his grandsons attends college in Columbia and marries Lulu and will stay in New York. The narrative now shifting back to present 1973 where Lou and Rolph go for a walk, the presence of Rolph comforting Lou who is displeased with Charlie's behavior. Lou begins to talk about a trait of craziness in all women and isn’t sure about the level of craziness in Mindy and Rolph’s mother. Once Rolph and Lou return back to the site it is evident that Charlie was crying.
II.Hills-While traveling through the safari Cora, a forty year old woman who works as Lou’s travel agent, asks Mindy why she is not reading the anthropology books she brought. Albert, who drives the jeep is taking everyone to a hotel in the hills to later look for animals. The reader learns that Mindy is in charge of keeping Lou’s children consent around Mindy and Lou’s troublesome relationship, Chronos’ obsession with animals,and Rolph’s affection. The group approaches a pride of lions and stops to take pictures, meanwhile Mindy and Albert feel a mutual attraction. Lou warns Chronos about his distance from the lions, right before a female lion pounds at him provoking him to shoot it with a rifle. Chronos gets 32 stitches on his left cheek, but survives nonetheless-- the group members decide that this will be a moment on which they will be able to tell their children in the future. After the kids visit the animal blind, Rolph and Mindy run into Albert in the hotel, resulting in inviting Albert up. Rolph goes to bed with a strange sensation in the bedroom.
III.Sand- Five days later, Lou’s group and the Phoenix Fraction are currently on their way to Mombasa on a train. Lou hugs Charlie, and points out has been less frequent than before, the porcupine quills on her hat poke him. Later that afternoon, they arrive at a hotel, where Rolph and Charlie lie under a palm tree and talk about their parents. Lou and Rolph go snorkeling, later noticing Rolph has not been killing any fish and just stares at them near the coral. Lou later states to Rolph that he thinks Mindy is rude to Albert. At dinner, Rolph and Charlie drink wine and the reader learns that Lou has been having sex with Mindy to show her the little value of Albert. The bird watching ladies tell Lou they will take him out tomorrow for bird watching and Rolph tells Charlie that Lou will marry Mindy despite not loving her. Rolph and Charlie dance together, Mindy dances with Lou while thinking about Albert.
The setting of the novel shifts from present to the future where it describes Charlie joining a mexican cult and almost dying from food poisoning from eating raw eggs. The reader also finds out that she will live alone in her late twenties after several failed relationships, and will suffer from a cocaine addiction. Lou will end up marrying Mindy because it feels like winning, while Mindy will spend most of her time supporting her two daughters. In the present, Rolph whispers to Charlie letting her know that those ladies weren’t ever birdwatching.
Chronos, a prominent character in this chapter survives a deadly encounter with a lion, also whose name in Greek means personification of time. Mindy whose main duty is to keep the children consent begins to analyze the relationships in Lou’s family, who is gradually coming apart because of the “bird” watchers flirting with Lou, and Mindy’s crush on Albert. This chapter could then be labeled of being symbolic of relationships coexistence with time. In the “Sand” portion of the chapter the reader learns what happens to the characters after Africa, thus the safari trip being the beginning of their life. Rolph is just now having relationship difficulties with his parents, similar to Charlie isolating her father away. For Mindy it is her realization of her unstructural relationships and consequences of her actions. For Lou, it is what motivated him to marry Mindy and feeling a sense of winning.
Chapter Five: You (Plural)
This chapter is told from the point of view of Jocelyn and is set during Lou’s deathbed, twenty years after they first met. Jocelyn and Rhea go to Lou's house to visit. They stand near him astonished at how old he has become and unsure of what to say. It was Bennie that had called with the news of Lou’s second stroke, Lou struggling to breathe. Jocelyn struggling with the sight "It's turning out to be a bad day, a day when the sun feels like teeth”. The reader learns that Rhea is married and has three children and lives in Seattle, while Jocelyn is currently trying to get her Bachelor’s at UCLA, regretful of her past. Lou has six kids from three marriages and learn that Rolph is not speaking to Jocelyn. They roll out Lou into the sunlight and Jocelyn accidentally asks Lou about Rolph, upon which Lou begins to cry. Jocelyn is overcome with anger internally, and begins contemplating pushing Lou into the pool, and drowning him. Jocelyn mentions the sun hurting her head and let's Lou know that she should kill him, recalling the sunrise looking like a baby when she sat with Rolph on the roof. Jocelyn and Rhea stand next to him for his last minutes.
The Lou in this chapter is nothing like the character in the previous chapter, his death bed scene portraying how much he has changed from his youth. This contrast can also be seen between Rhea and Jocelyn--Rhea a mother, meanwhile Jocelyn still trying to recover from a cocaine addiction. Now that they all meet together late in their lives, portrays the drastic effect time had on the relationships of the characters and their individual personalities. It is clear that Jocelyn is reminiscent of their youth and all the memories they shared, but then hard to believe that it is these same people. Jocelyn realizes that the Lou she knew two decades is a prominent reason for the state her and Rolph are in now-- causing her sudden anger towards Lou. The reader can see the negative correlation between time and the characters lives now. Jocelyn is extremely outraged at the outcome and effect of meeting Lou continue to have twenty years later.
Chapter Six: X’s and O’s
The focus returns to Scotty, though it is now several years later, and both Scotty and Bennie are in their forties. Scotty and Alice have already been married and divorced, and Scotty is now a single janitor in New York. While in the city, Scotty sends a note to Bennie at his record label, who responds back quite positively and asks him about his music. Scotty ponders on the note, and contemplates how much his life has changed since high school. He visits Bennie at his work, bringing along a fish he fished out of the polluted East River. He interacts briefly with Sasha while waiting to see his old friend, and while there, Scotty begins to wonder about the truth behind experience and whether or not it’s truly unique to individuals. He recounts a time where he stood outside of a fancy gala, convincing himself that experiences are not special and, because we are all made up of the same atoms and molecules, we can share any and every experience, but as he stood outside, he felt extremely excluded and alone. Bennie then calls Scotty into his office, and they have a moment to catch up. Bennie believes that Scotty wants some sort of musical or marketing help from him, but Scotty explains that he just wants to know what happened with Bennie “between A and B” (p. 101), A being high school, and B being present day. After a short conversation, Scotty leaves with the promise of staying in touch, and he finds a random musician walking down the street and gives him Bennie’s business card--that Bennie meant for Scotty to use--and tells him to use it.
Chapter 6 is the first chapter that really discusses postmodern ideals and truths. Scotty explores the idea that experiences are not limited only to the people who participate in the events, but he proves this hypothesis to be false by the end of the chapter. Postmodernism also talks about how experience is relative to each person, which is Scotty’s overall conclusion. Scotty also says the line about “A to B” which follows the structure of the book, set up to mirror the two sides of an album. Scotty’s chapter really focuses on the effects of time on people. He changes drastically since his last interaction with Bennie, and by giving away Bennie’s business card, it shows that he isn’t eager to change his life, even though he doesn’t seem truly satisfied with his situation.
Chapter Seven: A and B
Bennie and Stephanie, with their son Chris, move to Crandale, an exclusive upscale neighborhood that is very different from where the come from. For Bennie, who has just sold his record label, it marked his success, moving to a place where he did not belong. They aren’t welcomed and don’t fit in with the Republican crowd of neighborhood insiders. Stephanie took up tennis and eventually is befriended by Kathy, married to Clay, both conservative and viewed by Bennie and Stephanie as slightly ridiculous. Clay eventually tries to assert that Bennie is a Muslim terrorist infiltrator to a U.S. government agent at a party. Bennie gets angry but refuses to leave the neighborhood, instead asking Stephanie to quit playing tennis with Kathy. Stephanie tells Bennie she stopped but is instead secretly still meeting Kathy. Meanwhile, Stephanie’s brother, Jules, has just been released from prison after serving five years for the attempted rape of actress Kitty Jackson. He is now living with Bennie and Stephanie, trying to rebuild his life and deal with his bipolar disorder. After getting caught up in her own lies, Stephanie is trapped into taking Jules with her to an appointment with Bosco, the guitarist for the Conduits, who she represents through her advertising agency. Bosco, once the vibrant, stringy rockstar is now an aging, obese, alcoholic, cancer patient, whose albums are produced by Bennie out of pity and friendship. Bosco proposes to promote his new album by going on a “Suicide Tour.” He wants Stephanie to promote it and grants Jules exclusive rights to write about him and the tour. When Stephanie goes to talk to Bennie about Bosco’s plan, she discovers evidence that Bennie is having an affair with Kathy.
This chapter directly reflects the theme of time and change. It is from this chapter that the title of the novel derives, when Bosco says to Stephanie, “Time’s a goon,” by which he referred to the ravages of aging and the experiences of life. Stephanie reflects on the end of their previous carefree life before they became adults with children in an upscale neighborhood. The endings become even more definitive when she discovers Bennie’s betrayal, which will end their life together.
Chapter Eight: Selling the General
LaDoll is a high-powered advertising executive, Stephanie’s boss. She makes and breaks people’s lives merely by inviting them or not inviting them to her events. At one such event she makes a mistake and ends up spilling boiling oil on 500 guests, which ends her career and depletes all her money. Now living as simply “Dolly” with her 9-year-old daughter named Lulu, she works two low paying jobs and tries to get by, while also repairing her relationship with Lulu after the distance between them created by her stint in prison. She is randomly contacted by a third world dictator who wants to refurbish his image after committing genocide against his people. He offers her a huge sum of money, so she sets her conscience aside and takes the job. Dolly decides to make him look more human by faking a relationship with an attractive, young, American actress. She hones in on Kitty Jackson, whose career has gone off the rails after her erratic behavior following the assault by Jules Jones. Kitty, also wooed by the salary, agrees. Lulu unexpectedly asks to go and Dolly agrees reluctantly, surprised by her daughter’s interest. When they arrive, they discover that the General has departed his mansion due to a death threat. They concede to go to him in a remote military base within a jungle, rather than calling off the meeting. When the meet the General, Kitty charms him into smiling and the photoshoot is an instant success until Kitty begins out insults about his genocidal practices. She is immediately dragged off by the General’s military guards and Lulu and Dolly are whisked away to the airport and put on a plane home. Dolly prints out the photos and has them published. They are an instant success and actually achieve new political life for the General. Pleased with this result, the General pays Dolly a huge bonus, which allows her to create her new life with Lulu. Kitty is released and her career takes off again with a new critical boxoffice success.
This chapter relates to the themes of technology, perception, and time. Time, “the goon,” comes for LaDoll when the oil incident occurs. She is thrust into a new life of relative poverty. However, later, as she reflects back on the incident and the changes it brought to her life, she states that her real error was not in using the oil in the melting plastic but rather her failure to have recognized that they were in a new era and that time had already advanced. The chapter is also a clear commentary on the shallowness of public perceptions of reputation in the age of advertising and media. The facile redemption of the General with simply a promotional photograph is absurd but potentially believable, as such promotional ploys work with relative frequency in society.
Chapter Nine: Forty-Minute Lunch: Kitty Jackson Opens Up About Love, Fame, and Nixon!
Jules writes an article from prison, where he is serving time for the attempted rape of Kitty Jackson. He wants to rethink the event step by step, how it happened and how he got to that point. He goes to interview Kitty in a restaurant in New York. He has only 40 minutes to get some novel information for his story, however it doesn’t go well. He has become frustrated with his job interviewing celebrities and it has become clear that he is reaching towards a mentally unstable state, as can be first seen he starts thinking obsessively about Kitty licking salad dressing off her finger. Trying to delay the inevitable end to his short interviewing session, he asks Kitty to go for a walk. As they walk through Central Park, Jules suddenly pushes her to the ground and attempts to rape her but she thwarts him with mace and a pocket knife.
This chapter relates to the themes of self perception and personal identity. As the chapter unfolds, Jules’ perception of his own identity in relation to Kitty, as a famous actress, becomes more apparent. Jules is struggling with his role as a writer in comparison to the famous people he writes about. He is frustrated that the 19-year-old Kitty commands far more power and attention than he ever will. He is also frustrated that his desire for her is so unlikely to be requited that it is outside the realm of her possibility to consider. When he tries to rape her he says he wants to be inside of her life, almost as if he wants to be her.
Chapter Ten: Out of Body
Throughout chapter 10 Rob discusses his relationships with Drew and Sasha. In the beginning of the chapter Biz, Lizzie, Sasha, Drew and Rob are all hanging out in Biz and Sasha’s apartment smoking marijuana. Rob is reminded of his past aggression and attempt at suicide which has now calmed any urge he has to fight. Lizzie’s parents are in town visiting from Texas and staying in a hotel; she insists on kicking her boyfriend Biz out of her apartment for the week because she doesn’t want her parents to know she is sleeping with a black man. Rob offends Lizzie with comments toward her mother’s strong religious beliefs, afterward Rob realizes his overstep and apologizes to Lizzie for everything he believes he has done wrong which include trying to kill himself and being an asshole about her mother. Later Rob Sasha and Drew leave Lizzie’s and Rob’s high begins to wear off, he starts to recall the first time he met Sasha at freshman orientation. He also remembers that Sasha chose him to be her fake boyfriend in order to trick the detective her stepfather hired to watch her. During Rob and Sasha’s fake relationship they grew to become best friends and shared everything with one another. Soon their fake relationship came to an end when Sasha began dating Drew who her stepfather already admired. Rob claims that he regrets not having sex with Sasha while he had the chance. Rob soon becomes obsessed with the fact that Sasha has not shared her entire past with Drew and is overcome with jealousy. Sasha, Drew and Rob attend a concert and both the boys take ecstasy, Sasha gets annoyed with their drugged state of mind and she leaves them to wander around downtown. Rob wakes up in a hospital after getting his stomach pumped and Sasha is there with him telling him to never take ecstasy again. Afterward Rob and Drew go out to a club with Bix and Rob tries to explain to Drew the reality of Sasha’s past, Drew refuses to believe Rob and they get into an argument. Drew continues to ignore Rob and runs away from him, Rob chases him up until he jumps into a nearly freezing river. Rob jumps in after him and enters a panic in the strong current as he struggles he remembers all his time with Sasha and hears her screaming to him to fight as he dies in the water.
Chapter Eleven: Good-bye, My Love
Sasha’s Uncle, Ted Hollander travels to Naples in search of Sasha who disappeared two years prior when she was 17. Instead of looking for Sasha Ted ends up touring around and visiting art museums for his own benefit. Ted’s sister Beth soon calls him asking for updates on his search and Ted caves admitting his feelings of guilt; considering he has not been looking for her at all. After plenty drinks, Ted continues to think only of himself and what interests him, artwork, he then thinks of his real feelings toward Sasha which are all negative. After realizing he does not actually want to come in contact with Sasha, he continues to tour around Italy. During his adventures in Europe he recognizes Sasha and follows her around without her knowledge, she confronts him about it and he pretends to be startled by running into her. They begin talking and Sasha remembers a great deal about Ted and his family which sort of takes him by surprise. This causes Ted recall taking trips to the beach with her and her family and swimming in Lake Michigan with her when she was young. Later the two meet for dinner and Ted points out scars from slits on her wrists, she claims they were accidents. They dance during dinner and Ted is still amazed at how grown Sasha has become; Sasha leaves suddenly and soon after Ted notices his wallet is missing. Ted is unable to return home without his wallet, so he manages to track Sasha down at her apartment, however she will not let him in. Finally Sasha gives him back his wallet but he still refuses to leave, she lets him in and begins to explain how hard living in Naples has been for her. Ted starts to feel sorry for Sasha and eventually they return to the United States together.
Chapter Twelve: Great Rock and Roll Pauses
Chapter twelve is presented in the form of power point slides, created by Sasha's twelve year-old daughter Alison Blake. Through the slide show we learn that Sasha has married Drew Blake, and that they have had two children, Alison and thirteen year-old Lincoln. In the slides Alison discusses things such as her mothers annoying habits, her father who is rarely home and who has a problem with drinking, and Lincoln's obsession with long pauses in rock songs. Alison takes a particular interest in Lincoln's hobby of finding pauses in songs and so does Sasha, but Drew fails to see the importance of it. One night Drew snaps at Lincoln while he is enthusiastically explaining why the pauses are so great and Lincoln bursts into tears, running away. Unable to comfort his son, Drew instead takes Alison on a walk where Alison explains to him the importance of the pauses in rock songs and then brings up Rob. The slide show ends in slides that discuss the length of pauses in certain rock songs and the effect they have on the song.
This chapter serves as a way to wrap up Sasha's story, showing that she was able to overcome her habit of stealing and was able to make a family. Egan presented it in the form of a powerpoint as a way to show the way technology changes over the time and how new generations have found other ways to be able to express themselves.
Chapter Thirteen: Pure Language
Chapter thirteen centers around the thoughts of Alex, who we saw earlier on in the book on a date with Sasha. It is many years in the future and Alex barely remembers Sasha's name as he has brunch with Bennie Salazar. Alex and Bennie discuss Scotty Hausmann, whom Bennie is trying to set up a concert for. We are taken next to Alex having a brief meeting with Lulu as they discuss ways to bring people together for this concert. Lulu results to texting Alex during the meeting and Alex's daughter becomes infatuated with the hand-held device. Through out the chapter we see Lulu and Alex's texts as they joke around and figure out how to put together the concert. At the end of the chapter we see that Alex and Lulu managed to get hundred of people together for the concert, and Scotty becomes and instant hit. We see Bennie is pure bliss at the sound of his music. At the end of the chapter Alex and Bennie walk around town talking and they happen upon the subject of Sasha. The novel ends as they stand outside her old apartment, and talk about growing up.
Just as the book began with Sasha, it as well ended with Sasha. In this chapter Alex, Bennie, Lulu, and Scotty's stories are all wrapped up and tied together. We see each persons connection with one another as they have all aged and matured. We also see the significance of technology and social media and modern times as it a factor the chapter is centered around. We see the texts between Lulu and Alex, Alex even mentions that in the three weeks Alex and Lulu had been talking and planning, they had only met in person once. However he had formed a friendly connection with her. We also see Carol-An's infatuation with the phone and are shown how the youth has quickly become obsessed with technology and their hand-held devices.
The story begins centered on Sasha, a woman in her mid thirties who struggles with her obsession of stealing. We first see Sasha is on a rather boring date with a man named Alex. When she takes a trip to the bathroom we see further her obsession with stealing as she lusts over a wallet that is left on the floor while another woman is using the restroom. We are taken into another part in time where Sasha speaks to her therapist, Coz, about how to handle her obsession with stealing. Through out the chapter Sasha reflects on the things Coz has told her to help manage her impulsions. However she chooses to ignore this, and takes a leap and steals the wallet anyway. As Alex and Sasha are exiting the restaurant, the woman chases after them exclaiming she has lost her wallet. Sasha immediately feels dread as Alex begins to help her find the wallet. Torn between what to do next, Sasha plays along and runs into the bathroom to return the wallet where she found it. The woman catches Sasha putting the wallet back, but to Sasha's surprise she does not mention the theft, and let's Sasha go. Alex and Sasha head back to Sasha's apartment where they have sex and Alex then takes a bath in her bathtub. Sasha rummages through Alex's wallet where she finds a note that says "I believe in you"
We are opened up first to Sasha in this book, who we later realize is the one major person connecting the characters in this entire story. The chapter mainly focuses on Sasha's kleptomaniac tendencies, which we learn later on fired her from her job with Bennie Salazar. Her obsession with stealing is an attempt to fill an empty hole with in her however despite all her efforts, she has trouble finding her true fulfillment.
Chapter Two: The Gold Cure
The focus shifts to Bennie Salazar, Sasha’s boss at the music production studio. Bennie and Sasha visit a band called the Stop/Go Sisters in order to listen and record their music for marketing purposes. They remark afterwards how music has changed over time and how it isn’t as enjoyable as it used to, referring to the alterations in the music business as an “aesthetic holocaust” (p. 23). At this point in time, Bennie is a divorcee with a nine-year-old son, Chris. Bennie has seemingly lost his sexual appetite, though he desperately wants it back, and employs ancient “remedies” such as putting gold flakes in his coffee. Bennie continuously tries to find something sexual in Sasha, but he can only see her in a platonic light, rather than sexual. One day for fun, he shares his gold flakes with Chris and Sasha, calling it medicine for headaches. Bennie has an ongoing list of events he regrets from his life which all have backstories, including “Kissing Mother Superior”, and when Sasha finds it, she believes them to be song titles. When Sasha leaves for the day, she kisses Bennie on the cheek, and he describes it as a kiss between “brother and sister, mother and son”, showcasing the true nature of their relationship.
This is the first true introduction we have for Bennie, who becomes a major character throughout the book. By describing his longing for sexual connections, it also implies the importance of general human relationships and how fulfilling they are. However, Bennie’s desperation to regain that part of himself also shows how people try to be what is thought of as “normal” to most people. Bennie’s list of regrets is a perfect example of how people never seem to let go of the past, even though years and even decades have passed.
Chapter Three: Ask Me If I Care
Chapter 3 takes place in 1979 and is narrated by Rhea, an old friend of Bennie’s from his high school days. We are introduced to the members of their band, “The Flaming Dildos”: Rhea, Jocelyn, Scotty, and Alice. Rhea is very insecure about her looks and personality, and spends a lot of time comparing herself with Alice and Jocelyn, who she clearly thinks highly of. The chapter follows the band members and their relationships with one another. Rhea likes Bennie, who has a crush on Alice, who fancies Scotty, who loves Jocelyn. Jocelyn loves Scotty as a brother, but is too taken with Lou, the middle-aged man she is involved with both romantically and sexually. Rhea and Jocelyn have shared many previous experiences, and Rhea desires to know everything about Jocelyn’s relationship with Lou so they can be “equal” in experience.
This chapter focuses less on plot progressions and more about understanding the newly introduced characters and their backgrounds. Rhea is a character who stays predominantly in the background, so it makes sense that she would narrate the chapter in such a way. Many of the characters come up again, so it’s important that the audience is able to understand their pasts. She continuously questions is she is a “real” punk, due to her freckles, and contemplates what makes a true “punk”; whether it’s due to external opinions and judgment, or self-perception.
Chapter Four: Safari
I.Grass-This chapter is set in Africa focused on Lou in his thirties and his girlfriend Mindy who are sitting around a bonfire with their son Rolph and daughter Charlie. Rolph then begins recalling when Mindy and Lou took them to Hawaii for vacation. Then Samburu warriors arrive at the scene, one who particularly caught Charlie's attention a day prior. This warrior begins dancing to drums and singing, meanwhile her father looks on frustrated. Charlie then makes eye contact with the nineteen year old warrior, the author then makes a narrative shift to the year 2008 where the warrior has 4 wives and sixty-three grandchildren, Joe one of his grandsons attends college in Columbia and marries Lulu and will stay in New York. The narrative now shifting back to present 1973 where Lou and Rolph go for a walk, the presence of Rolph comforting Lou who is displeased with Charlie's behavior. Lou begins to talk about a trait of craziness in all women and isn’t sure about the level of craziness in Mindy and Rolph’s mother. Once Rolph and Lou return back to the site it is evident that Charlie was crying.
II.Hills-While traveling through the safari Cora, a forty year old woman who works as Lou’s travel agent, asks Mindy why she is not reading the anthropology books she brought. Albert, who drives the jeep is taking everyone to a hotel in the hills to later look for animals. The reader learns that Mindy is in charge of keeping Lou’s children consent around Mindy and Lou’s troublesome relationship, Chronos’ obsession with animals,and Rolph’s affection. The group approaches a pride of lions and stops to take pictures, meanwhile Mindy and Albert feel a mutual attraction. Lou warns Chronos about his distance from the lions, right before a female lion pounds at him provoking him to shoot it with a rifle. Chronos gets 32 stitches on his left cheek, but survives nonetheless-- the group members decide that this will be a moment on which they will be able to tell their children in the future. After the kids visit the animal blind, Rolph and Mindy run into Albert in the hotel, resulting in inviting Albert up. Rolph goes to bed with a strange sensation in the bedroom.
III.Sand- Five days later, Lou’s group and the Phoenix Fraction are currently on their way to Mombasa on a train. Lou hugs Charlie, and points out has been less frequent than before, the porcupine quills on her hat poke him. Later that afternoon, they arrive at a hotel, where Rolph and Charlie lie under a palm tree and talk about their parents. Lou and Rolph go snorkeling, later noticing Rolph has not been killing any fish and just stares at them near the coral. Lou later states to Rolph that he thinks Mindy is rude to Albert. At dinner, Rolph and Charlie drink wine and the reader learns that Lou has been having sex with Mindy to show her the little value of Albert. The bird watching ladies tell Lou they will take him out tomorrow for bird watching and Rolph tells Charlie that Lou will marry Mindy despite not loving her. Rolph and Charlie dance together, Mindy dances with Lou while thinking about Albert.
The setting of the novel shifts from present to the future where it describes Charlie joining a mexican cult and almost dying from food poisoning from eating raw eggs. The reader also finds out that she will live alone in her late twenties after several failed relationships, and will suffer from a cocaine addiction. Lou will end up marrying Mindy because it feels like winning, while Mindy will spend most of her time supporting her two daughters. In the present, Rolph whispers to Charlie letting her know that those ladies weren’t ever birdwatching.
Chronos, a prominent character in this chapter survives a deadly encounter with a lion, also whose name in Greek means personification of time. Mindy whose main duty is to keep the children consent begins to analyze the relationships in Lou’s family, who is gradually coming apart because of the “bird” watchers flirting with Lou, and Mindy’s crush on Albert. This chapter could then be labeled of being symbolic of relationships coexistence with time. In the “Sand” portion of the chapter the reader learns what happens to the characters after Africa, thus the safari trip being the beginning of their life. Rolph is just now having relationship difficulties with his parents, similar to Charlie isolating her father away. For Mindy it is her realization of her unstructural relationships and consequences of her actions. For Lou, it is what motivated him to marry Mindy and feeling a sense of winning.
Chapter Five: You (Plural)
This chapter is told from the point of view of Jocelyn and is set during Lou’s deathbed, twenty years after they first met. Jocelyn and Rhea go to Lou's house to visit. They stand near him astonished at how old he has become and unsure of what to say. It was Bennie that had called with the news of Lou’s second stroke, Lou struggling to breathe. Jocelyn struggling with the sight "It's turning out to be a bad day, a day when the sun feels like teeth”. The reader learns that Rhea is married and has three children and lives in Seattle, while Jocelyn is currently trying to get her Bachelor’s at UCLA, regretful of her past. Lou has six kids from three marriages and learn that Rolph is not speaking to Jocelyn. They roll out Lou into the sunlight and Jocelyn accidentally asks Lou about Rolph, upon which Lou begins to cry. Jocelyn is overcome with anger internally, and begins contemplating pushing Lou into the pool, and drowning him. Jocelyn mentions the sun hurting her head and let's Lou know that she should kill him, recalling the sunrise looking like a baby when she sat with Rolph on the roof. Jocelyn and Rhea stand next to him for his last minutes.
The Lou in this chapter is nothing like the character in the previous chapter, his death bed scene portraying how much he has changed from his youth. This contrast can also be seen between Rhea and Jocelyn--Rhea a mother, meanwhile Jocelyn still trying to recover from a cocaine addiction. Now that they all meet together late in their lives, portrays the drastic effect time had on the relationships of the characters and their individual personalities. It is clear that Jocelyn is reminiscent of their youth and all the memories they shared, but then hard to believe that it is these same people. Jocelyn realizes that the Lou she knew two decades is a prominent reason for the state her and Rolph are in now-- causing her sudden anger towards Lou. The reader can see the negative correlation between time and the characters lives now. Jocelyn is extremely outraged at the outcome and effect of meeting Lou continue to have twenty years later.
Chapter Six: X’s and O’s
The focus returns to Scotty, though it is now several years later, and both Scotty and Bennie are in their forties. Scotty and Alice have already been married and divorced, and Scotty is now a single janitor in New York. While in the city, Scotty sends a note to Bennie at his record label, who responds back quite positively and asks him about his music. Scotty ponders on the note, and contemplates how much his life has changed since high school. He visits Bennie at his work, bringing along a fish he fished out of the polluted East River. He interacts briefly with Sasha while waiting to see his old friend, and while there, Scotty begins to wonder about the truth behind experience and whether or not it’s truly unique to individuals. He recounts a time where he stood outside of a fancy gala, convincing himself that experiences are not special and, because we are all made up of the same atoms and molecules, we can share any and every experience, but as he stood outside, he felt extremely excluded and alone. Bennie then calls Scotty into his office, and they have a moment to catch up. Bennie believes that Scotty wants some sort of musical or marketing help from him, but Scotty explains that he just wants to know what happened with Bennie “between A and B” (p. 101), A being high school, and B being present day. After a short conversation, Scotty leaves with the promise of staying in touch, and he finds a random musician walking down the street and gives him Bennie’s business card--that Bennie meant for Scotty to use--and tells him to use it.
Chapter 6 is the first chapter that really discusses postmodern ideals and truths. Scotty explores the idea that experiences are not limited only to the people who participate in the events, but he proves this hypothesis to be false by the end of the chapter. Postmodernism also talks about how experience is relative to each person, which is Scotty’s overall conclusion. Scotty also says the line about “A to B” which follows the structure of the book, set up to mirror the two sides of an album. Scotty’s chapter really focuses on the effects of time on people. He changes drastically since his last interaction with Bennie, and by giving away Bennie’s business card, it shows that he isn’t eager to change his life, even though he doesn’t seem truly satisfied with his situation.
Chapter Seven: A and B
Bennie and Stephanie, with their son Chris, move to Crandale, an exclusive upscale neighborhood that is very different from where the come from. For Bennie, who has just sold his record label, it marked his success, moving to a place where he did not belong. They aren’t welcomed and don’t fit in with the Republican crowd of neighborhood insiders. Stephanie took up tennis and eventually is befriended by Kathy, married to Clay, both conservative and viewed by Bennie and Stephanie as slightly ridiculous. Clay eventually tries to assert that Bennie is a Muslim terrorist infiltrator to a U.S. government agent at a party. Bennie gets angry but refuses to leave the neighborhood, instead asking Stephanie to quit playing tennis with Kathy. Stephanie tells Bennie she stopped but is instead secretly still meeting Kathy. Meanwhile, Stephanie’s brother, Jules, has just been released from prison after serving five years for the attempted rape of actress Kitty Jackson. He is now living with Bennie and Stephanie, trying to rebuild his life and deal with his bipolar disorder. After getting caught up in her own lies, Stephanie is trapped into taking Jules with her to an appointment with Bosco, the guitarist for the Conduits, who she represents through her advertising agency. Bosco, once the vibrant, stringy rockstar is now an aging, obese, alcoholic, cancer patient, whose albums are produced by Bennie out of pity and friendship. Bosco proposes to promote his new album by going on a “Suicide Tour.” He wants Stephanie to promote it and grants Jules exclusive rights to write about him and the tour. When Stephanie goes to talk to Bennie about Bosco’s plan, she discovers evidence that Bennie is having an affair with Kathy.
This chapter directly reflects the theme of time and change. It is from this chapter that the title of the novel derives, when Bosco says to Stephanie, “Time’s a goon,” by which he referred to the ravages of aging and the experiences of life. Stephanie reflects on the end of their previous carefree life before they became adults with children in an upscale neighborhood. The endings become even more definitive when she discovers Bennie’s betrayal, which will end their life together.
Chapter Eight: Selling the General
LaDoll is a high-powered advertising executive, Stephanie’s boss. She makes and breaks people’s lives merely by inviting them or not inviting them to her events. At one such event she makes a mistake and ends up spilling boiling oil on 500 guests, which ends her career and depletes all her money. Now living as simply “Dolly” with her 9-year-old daughter named Lulu, she works two low paying jobs and tries to get by, while also repairing her relationship with Lulu after the distance between them created by her stint in prison. She is randomly contacted by a third world dictator who wants to refurbish his image after committing genocide against his people. He offers her a huge sum of money, so she sets her conscience aside and takes the job. Dolly decides to make him look more human by faking a relationship with an attractive, young, American actress. She hones in on Kitty Jackson, whose career has gone off the rails after her erratic behavior following the assault by Jules Jones. Kitty, also wooed by the salary, agrees. Lulu unexpectedly asks to go and Dolly agrees reluctantly, surprised by her daughter’s interest. When they arrive, they discover that the General has departed his mansion due to a death threat. They concede to go to him in a remote military base within a jungle, rather than calling off the meeting. When the meet the General, Kitty charms him into smiling and the photoshoot is an instant success until Kitty begins out insults about his genocidal practices. She is immediately dragged off by the General’s military guards and Lulu and Dolly are whisked away to the airport and put on a plane home. Dolly prints out the photos and has them published. They are an instant success and actually achieve new political life for the General. Pleased with this result, the General pays Dolly a huge bonus, which allows her to create her new life with Lulu. Kitty is released and her career takes off again with a new critical boxoffice success.
This chapter relates to the themes of technology, perception, and time. Time, “the goon,” comes for LaDoll when the oil incident occurs. She is thrust into a new life of relative poverty. However, later, as she reflects back on the incident and the changes it brought to her life, she states that her real error was not in using the oil in the melting plastic but rather her failure to have recognized that they were in a new era and that time had already advanced. The chapter is also a clear commentary on the shallowness of public perceptions of reputation in the age of advertising and media. The facile redemption of the General with simply a promotional photograph is absurd but potentially believable, as such promotional ploys work with relative frequency in society.
Chapter Nine: Forty-Minute Lunch: Kitty Jackson Opens Up About Love, Fame, and Nixon!
Jules writes an article from prison, where he is serving time for the attempted rape of Kitty Jackson. He wants to rethink the event step by step, how it happened and how he got to that point. He goes to interview Kitty in a restaurant in New York. He has only 40 minutes to get some novel information for his story, however it doesn’t go well. He has become frustrated with his job interviewing celebrities and it has become clear that he is reaching towards a mentally unstable state, as can be first seen he starts thinking obsessively about Kitty licking salad dressing off her finger. Trying to delay the inevitable end to his short interviewing session, he asks Kitty to go for a walk. As they walk through Central Park, Jules suddenly pushes her to the ground and attempts to rape her but she thwarts him with mace and a pocket knife.
This chapter relates to the themes of self perception and personal identity. As the chapter unfolds, Jules’ perception of his own identity in relation to Kitty, as a famous actress, becomes more apparent. Jules is struggling with his role as a writer in comparison to the famous people he writes about. He is frustrated that the 19-year-old Kitty commands far more power and attention than he ever will. He is also frustrated that his desire for her is so unlikely to be requited that it is outside the realm of her possibility to consider. When he tries to rape her he says he wants to be inside of her life, almost as if he wants to be her.
Chapter Ten: Out of Body
Throughout chapter 10 Rob discusses his relationships with Drew and Sasha. In the beginning of the chapter Biz, Lizzie, Sasha, Drew and Rob are all hanging out in Biz and Sasha’s apartment smoking marijuana. Rob is reminded of his past aggression and attempt at suicide which has now calmed any urge he has to fight. Lizzie’s parents are in town visiting from Texas and staying in a hotel; she insists on kicking her boyfriend Biz out of her apartment for the week because she doesn’t want her parents to know she is sleeping with a black man. Rob offends Lizzie with comments toward her mother’s strong religious beliefs, afterward Rob realizes his overstep and apologizes to Lizzie for everything he believes he has done wrong which include trying to kill himself and being an asshole about her mother. Later Rob Sasha and Drew leave Lizzie’s and Rob’s high begins to wear off, he starts to recall the first time he met Sasha at freshman orientation. He also remembers that Sasha chose him to be her fake boyfriend in order to trick the detective her stepfather hired to watch her. During Rob and Sasha’s fake relationship they grew to become best friends and shared everything with one another. Soon their fake relationship came to an end when Sasha began dating Drew who her stepfather already admired. Rob claims that he regrets not having sex with Sasha while he had the chance. Rob soon becomes obsessed with the fact that Sasha has not shared her entire past with Drew and is overcome with jealousy. Sasha, Drew and Rob attend a concert and both the boys take ecstasy, Sasha gets annoyed with their drugged state of mind and she leaves them to wander around downtown. Rob wakes up in a hospital after getting his stomach pumped and Sasha is there with him telling him to never take ecstasy again. Afterward Rob and Drew go out to a club with Bix and Rob tries to explain to Drew the reality of Sasha’s past, Drew refuses to believe Rob and they get into an argument. Drew continues to ignore Rob and runs away from him, Rob chases him up until he jumps into a nearly freezing river. Rob jumps in after him and enters a panic in the strong current as he struggles he remembers all his time with Sasha and hears her screaming to him to fight as he dies in the water.
Chapter Eleven: Good-bye, My Love
Sasha’s Uncle, Ted Hollander travels to Naples in search of Sasha who disappeared two years prior when she was 17. Instead of looking for Sasha Ted ends up touring around and visiting art museums for his own benefit. Ted’s sister Beth soon calls him asking for updates on his search and Ted caves admitting his feelings of guilt; considering he has not been looking for her at all. After plenty drinks, Ted continues to think only of himself and what interests him, artwork, he then thinks of his real feelings toward Sasha which are all negative. After realizing he does not actually want to come in contact with Sasha, he continues to tour around Italy. During his adventures in Europe he recognizes Sasha and follows her around without her knowledge, she confronts him about it and he pretends to be startled by running into her. They begin talking and Sasha remembers a great deal about Ted and his family which sort of takes him by surprise. This causes Ted recall taking trips to the beach with her and her family and swimming in Lake Michigan with her when she was young. Later the two meet for dinner and Ted points out scars from slits on her wrists, she claims they were accidents. They dance during dinner and Ted is still amazed at how grown Sasha has become; Sasha leaves suddenly and soon after Ted notices his wallet is missing. Ted is unable to return home without his wallet, so he manages to track Sasha down at her apartment, however she will not let him in. Finally Sasha gives him back his wallet but he still refuses to leave, she lets him in and begins to explain how hard living in Naples has been for her. Ted starts to feel sorry for Sasha and eventually they return to the United States together.
Chapter Twelve: Great Rock and Roll Pauses
Chapter twelve is presented in the form of power point slides, created by Sasha's twelve year-old daughter Alison Blake. Through the slide show we learn that Sasha has married Drew Blake, and that they have had two children, Alison and thirteen year-old Lincoln. In the slides Alison discusses things such as her mothers annoying habits, her father who is rarely home and who has a problem with drinking, and Lincoln's obsession with long pauses in rock songs. Alison takes a particular interest in Lincoln's hobby of finding pauses in songs and so does Sasha, but Drew fails to see the importance of it. One night Drew snaps at Lincoln while he is enthusiastically explaining why the pauses are so great and Lincoln bursts into tears, running away. Unable to comfort his son, Drew instead takes Alison on a walk where Alison explains to him the importance of the pauses in rock songs and then brings up Rob. The slide show ends in slides that discuss the length of pauses in certain rock songs and the effect they have on the song.
This chapter serves as a way to wrap up Sasha's story, showing that she was able to overcome her habit of stealing and was able to make a family. Egan presented it in the form of a powerpoint as a way to show the way technology changes over the time and how new generations have found other ways to be able to express themselves.
Chapter Thirteen: Pure Language
Chapter thirteen centers around the thoughts of Alex, who we saw earlier on in the book on a date with Sasha. It is many years in the future and Alex barely remembers Sasha's name as he has brunch with Bennie Salazar. Alex and Bennie discuss Scotty Hausmann, whom Bennie is trying to set up a concert for. We are taken next to Alex having a brief meeting with Lulu as they discuss ways to bring people together for this concert. Lulu results to texting Alex during the meeting and Alex's daughter becomes infatuated with the hand-held device. Through out the chapter we see Lulu and Alex's texts as they joke around and figure out how to put together the concert. At the end of the chapter we see that Alex and Lulu managed to get hundred of people together for the concert, and Scotty becomes and instant hit. We see Bennie is pure bliss at the sound of his music. At the end of the chapter Alex and Bennie walk around town talking and they happen upon the subject of Sasha. The novel ends as they stand outside her old apartment, and talk about growing up.
Just as the book began with Sasha, it as well ended with Sasha. In this chapter Alex, Bennie, Lulu, and Scotty's stories are all wrapped up and tied together. We see each persons connection with one another as they have all aged and matured. We also see the significance of technology and social media and modern times as it a factor the chapter is centered around. We see the texts between Lulu and Alex, Alex even mentions that in the three weeks Alex and Lulu had been talking and planning, they had only met in person once. However he had formed a friendly connection with her. We also see Carol-An's infatuation with the phone and are shown how the youth has quickly become obsessed with technology and their hand-held devices.