All right, I admit it–I read this because it won the Pulitzer. I don’t think I would have read it otherwise. However, this is going to be a really short review since I had mixed feelings about the book.
I like the spirit of A Visit from the Goon Squad, but I found it really hard to follow. There are a lot of different characters and interlocking narratives; I found myself having to flip back and figure out who was related to whom, who was married to whom, who was friends with whom, etc. I liked how everyone was connected in some way–it reminded me often of the show Lost–but I found the progression between chapters confusing.
By the time I got to the PowerPoint chapter, I was glad for a break and I found the slides really fun and interesting. I had been kind of skeptical as to how a story could be told effectively through PowerPoint, but surprisingly, the technique actually worked.
I guess I didn’t love the book because it left me feeling…off. I enjoy somber books (even depressing ones, and too often, probably), but this one just left me with a weird aftertaste, so to speak. It had very funny moments, but other parts that were truly bleak. Despite all this, I still enjoyed Egan’s writing style and would read other books by her. Unfortunately, I just didn’t love this book the way that so many others do.
