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jtaylor10's review
3.0
The individual stories were interesting but I could not follow how they were connected together. I finished this book feeling very confused.
nabillatte's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For whatever reason I actually liked this a lot more than A Visit from the Goon Squad. It has a similar style to Goon Squad, a collection of connected stories each written in different styles and from different perspectives, but I enjoyed this one more. Egan is definitely flexing her ability to write so many different styles of prose (one chapter is entirely composed of a series of emails sent between a number of characters) and it's not just an impressive flex, but an enjoyable one.
mcloonejack's review
5.0
What an absolutely stunning work.
In lesser hands, having a new point of view every chapter—including distinct writing styles, in both syntax and style—but Egan absolutely blows it out of the park. The little “trick” of having all the characters overlap never wore thin, either. In fact, I was always excited to see how the stories would tie together, which they do in increasingly intricate ways.
The other trick that Egan pulls off that a lesser writer couldn’t is writing a book about the larger dangers of increasingly invasive social media that doesn’t feel preachy. There are no soap boxes about the dangers of putting your entire memory online, but they’re made clear; and at the same time, the benefits that entice others are there, too. Egan also teases out so many more interesting trickle down changes that would come from a large portion of the population putting the entirety of their memories online and making them accessible.
All of this is about the craft, but the story itself is also full of heart and tension and engaging characters. In the short times you spend in their POV, you come to really care for, or at least understand, them all, and then seeing them from others’ points of view further serves to flesh it out.
Note: I did not read A Visit From The Goon Squad prior to reading this, but did not feel as though I was missing anything.
In lesser hands, having a new point of view every chapter—including distinct writing styles, in both syntax and style—but Egan absolutely blows it out of the park. The little “trick” of having all the characters overlap never wore thin, either. In fact, I was always excited to see how the stories would tie together, which they do in increasingly intricate ways.
The other trick that Egan pulls off that a lesser writer couldn’t is writing a book about the larger dangers of increasingly invasive social media that doesn’t feel preachy. There are no soap boxes about the dangers of putting your entire memory online, but they’re made clear; and at the same time, the benefits that entice others are there, too. Egan also teases out so many more interesting trickle down changes that would come from a large portion of the population putting the entirety of their memories online and making them accessible.
All of this is about the craft, but the story itself is also full of heart and tension and engaging characters. In the short times you spend in their POV, you come to really care for, or at least understand, them all, and then seeing them from others’ points of view further serves to flesh it out.
Note: I did not read A Visit From The Goon Squad prior to reading this, but did not feel as though I was missing anything.
rachelhmark123's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
emhakes's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
qhaberman's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
hallformusic's review
4.5
jennifer egan’s writing is gleefully weird in a way that other authors should rightfully fear
laurareads5's review
3.0
I’m not sure if I liked this book or not. The various storylines were interesting and I enjoyed the way that they intersected, but there was no real plot. I missed having a through line.
fmmiller88's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
*Currently on Page 56 and so far it is incredibly confusing. The structure is interesting because each "chapter" is written so differently. It is broken into sections and then there are chapters or the next section has multiple POVs to distinguish chapters. I don't think it is going to get any easier.
After finishing this book I am less confused mainly because some chapters are easier to understand than others. You get a glimpse of each persons personality and how the writing style changes to accompany that personality. For example, one of the characters hyper focuses on numbers and is deemed "different" so when it comes to his chapter he analyzes data throughout his story. This is like a series of vignettes which slightly overlap. The book feels like short stories that discuss each person's relationship with technology and then also how they interact with each other. Think the movie "Crash" but way more complex because the stories are not necessarily time parallels. Overall, I am still mixed on how I feel about this book which is why it is a 3.
After finishing this book I am less confused mainly because some chapters are easier to understand than others. You get a glimpse of each persons personality and how the writing style changes to accompany that personality. For example, one of the characters hyper focuses on numbers and is deemed "different" so when it comes to his chapter he analyzes data throughout his story. This is like a series of vignettes which slightly overlap. The book feels like short stories that discuss each person's relationship with technology and then also how they interact with each other. Think the movie "Crash" but way more complex because the stories are not necessarily time parallels. Overall, I am still mixed on how I feel about this book which is why it is a 3.