Book Review: A Visit From the Goon Squad

BOOK review

Started on: 24.December.2011

Finished on: 31.December.2011

well. this one is quite a long read; because i was taking this along with me on my holiday, but i didn't get much chance to read it! honestly, i have to say, this book makes me confused at first. i was anticipating a novel with clear plots and distinct main characters, but i was already confused from the beginning of the book because there are so many characters being introduced and i see little connection between them. i had to look up on the internet to find out that these chapters are actually short stories, with similar patterns happening to the characters, and all the characters are connected to each other one way or another.

i think this is quite a difficult book to summarise, because there's no clear plot of the story; but it has its' own message to be delivered to the readers. here's my (quite a short) review on the book:

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"Time's a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?"

the word goon itself actually refers to some kind of robber, a thug. describing the main theme of the book; how time, fate, and life circumstances have stolen many important things from the characters; such as success. the story then reveals the characters' background, life, history, and what happens in the future. the characters in the book intertwine, with different relationships; but mostly are people who are working in the music industry.

i think the characters that got the most attention would be Sasha and Bennie. Sasha is a young woman who has kleptomania problem; she finds pleasure in stealing thing. she works for Bennie, a music producer. there's also the story of Lou: Bennie's mentor, the story of his family, his children, and his life. and there are many more characters in the book which connects to each other in a way.

the whole story is compiled in a unique way. one thing that amazed me is how a book can contain stories using 3 point of views; first-person: the narration uses "I", meaning the character is telling the story. third-person, and even second-person point of view: which uses "You" in the narration. i rarely reads any book which uses second-person point of view, and now i've read one.

one of the most memorable story/chapter in this book, is the story told by Alison Blake, Sasha's daughter. she tells the story in a unique way: in a form of Powerpoint slide. i almost cannot believe that a series of Powerpoint slides can delivers so much emotion. the presentation is some sort of Alison's diary, where she tells her relationship with her mother, father, and her autistic brother.

i don't have much to say about this book, except that this book is unique. i can understand why it got an award, but unfortunately this is not the kind of book i enjoy most. it is a good experience reading it, though. i hope in the future i'll be able to understand books like this much better than now. ;)

by the way, this is my final read this year! yayy! :D

 

3/5 stars
by.stefaniesugia♥