Connected By Strings:
A Structural Examination of A Visit From the Goon Squad
The postmodern approach to her book, A Visit From the Goon Squad, has earned Jennifer Egan the familiar question: should the book be read as a novel, or as a collection of short stories? The book features several different characters following their respective journeys, only interacting at certain points in their lives that tie one story to the next. Jennifer Egan herself has been wary to clearly address the question, instead declaring that she wanted “every piece has to be very different, from a different point of view” (Julavits). Her characters, all extremely unique with varying motivations, are connected to each other by minute ties, insignificant relationships, or simply a one-time encounter in the street, and it is because of this that A Visit From the Goon Squad can so easily be depicted as a collection of stories independent of each other. In one article, journalist Kristin Tilloston describes the composition as “little stories that, taken as a whole, say big things, encapsulating warp-speed cultural changes and the wisdom, regrets, and ravages wrought by time” (Tilloston). However, even if Egan had laid down a simple answer, how the book is read can hardly be decided by an author’s statement, and is instead up to the individual. This blurred line between the chapters being connected or independent is a postmodern ideal in of itself; by leaving the book forever undefined, it becomes relative to the reader, rather than forcing one strict definition.
It is important to notice the clear differences that exist between chapters, whether they are contrasts in style, time, narrative, or rhetoric. These polarities change the way the story will be read and digested by it’s audience, and create a completely difference effect overall, but ultimately, these stories all exist in a singular book. Overall, A Visit From the Goon Squad is “composed of a series of stories with the arc of a novel” (Neary). This book is full of constant motifs that develop over the passage of the novel, and though they carry different meanings at times, they are present to grant the book with themes that are applicable to all stories. Because of this, the book cannot be read as a collection of stories, but must be understood as a progression of plot and character development as seen through different narratives in order to create one lasting impact on its audience.
Works Cited
Julavits, Heidi. “Jennifer Egan.” BOMB: Artists in Conversation. Bomb Magazine, Nov. 2014. Web. 15 May 2015.
Neary, Lynn. “Jennifer Egan Does Avant-Garde Fiction--Old School.” NPR Books. National Public Radio, 25 July, 2010. Broadcast. 15 May 2015.
Tillotson, Kristin. “A very goon year for Jennifer Egan.” StarTribune. StarTribune, 6 Sep. 2011. Web. 15 May 2015.
A Structural Examination of A Visit From the Goon Squad
The postmodern approach to her book, A Visit From the Goon Squad, has earned Jennifer Egan the familiar question: should the book be read as a novel, or as a collection of short stories? The book features several different characters following their respective journeys, only interacting at certain points in their lives that tie one story to the next. Jennifer Egan herself has been wary to clearly address the question, instead declaring that she wanted “every piece has to be very different, from a different point of view” (Julavits). Her characters, all extremely unique with varying motivations, are connected to each other by minute ties, insignificant relationships, or simply a one-time encounter in the street, and it is because of this that A Visit From the Goon Squad can so easily be depicted as a collection of stories independent of each other. In one article, journalist Kristin Tilloston describes the composition as “little stories that, taken as a whole, say big things, encapsulating warp-speed cultural changes and the wisdom, regrets, and ravages wrought by time” (Tilloston). However, even if Egan had laid down a simple answer, how the book is read can hardly be decided by an author’s statement, and is instead up to the individual. This blurred line between the chapters being connected or independent is a postmodern ideal in of itself; by leaving the book forever undefined, it becomes relative to the reader, rather than forcing one strict definition.
It is important to notice the clear differences that exist between chapters, whether they are contrasts in style, time, narrative, or rhetoric. These polarities change the way the story will be read and digested by it’s audience, and create a completely difference effect overall, but ultimately, these stories all exist in a singular book. Overall, A Visit From the Goon Squad is “composed of a series of stories with the arc of a novel” (Neary). This book is full of constant motifs that develop over the passage of the novel, and though they carry different meanings at times, they are present to grant the book with themes that are applicable to all stories. Because of this, the book cannot be read as a collection of stories, but must be understood as a progression of plot and character development as seen through different narratives in order to create one lasting impact on its audience.
Works Cited
Julavits, Heidi. “Jennifer Egan.” BOMB: Artists in Conversation. Bomb Magazine, Nov. 2014. Web. 15 May 2015.
Neary, Lynn. “Jennifer Egan Does Avant-Garde Fiction--Old School.” NPR Books. National Public Radio, 25 July, 2010. Broadcast. 15 May 2015.
Tillotson, Kristin. “A very goon year for Jennifer Egan.” StarTribune. StarTribune, 6 Sep. 2011. Web. 15 May 2015.