A Visit from the Goon Squad

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

From a postmodernist standpoint and written into thirteen solid chapters, with each able to stand alone as a complete, single story, Egan’s ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ explores how people, society, and culture phase out in the presence of time. This gripping – yet complex – tale touches on the experiences of the different caliber of characters, all harmonized by the rock music era of the 70s. 

Key Facts about A Visit from the Goon Squad

• Book title: A Visit from the Goon Squad
• Author: Jennifer Egan
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
• Release Date: June 2010
• Page count: 278
• Genre: Psychological Fiction. Novel. Short story collection
• Climax: None clear climax or resolution
• Setting: New York City, San Francisco, Italy.

Jennifer Egan and A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer Egan’s journey to become the author of the monumental, Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ is interesting and can’t be labeled straightforward.

The author’s literary road started out not so much as the regular spot popular authors did. To start with, Egan didn’t write from an early age. Her childhood wasn’t nearly as tranquil as most children would have because she moved around a lot with her mother (after her parents divorced when she was only two years old).

Novel writing wasn’t even in the top two dreams for Egan as she began coming of age. Her first passion was archeology and the author did take a year off after high school to explore that aspiration but it wasn’t going to be. Her next stop was modeling and the reason was probably not so tied to passion as it was hinged on the fact that she possessed a tall, model-slim frame.

After a couple of modeling trips to California and later to Japan, Egan returned to Pennsylvania and got enrolled in college, but would, after a first-year college break, take a trip to New York City and try to make something – still – from modeling. However, her booking days were less than enough to even pay for an apartment, so she left her career and concentrated on her college program.

Graduating college with a class of 85 with a degree in English Literature no doubt laid the groundwork for her later writing success – given that she had now been knowledgeable with literature theories and the art of good creative writing. Before penning her first novel ‘The Invisible Circus,’ first explored the terrains of mainstream journalism – publishing several award-winning articles for the New York Times Magazine.

Egan’s ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ came in June 2010 as the author’s fourth book after ‘The Invisible Circus,’ ‘Look at Me,’ and ‘The Keep.’ The book took a non-conventional approach in the genre, narrative style, characters, and technique, exploring the passage of time (how time just never stops for anyone) – in the rock music world.

The book, even though not an instant commercial smash hit, garnered several positive reviews from top publishers and critics. The following year after its official release, it won a number of awards – including the Pulitzer Prize after impressing the literary community. Even after more than a decade after the release of ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad,’ and with the author having published other award-winning books, Goon Squad is still powering strong as Egan’s finest work to this day.

Books Related to A Visit from the Goon Squad

‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ has been called a complicated and intimidating read by its critics for its sheer defiance of the rules of regular prose-type novel writing. Initially written as a thirteen-short story series for mainstream print publication, the book was later published by Knopf as a unified novel in 2010 and designed as fiction.

Despite being widely called fiction, ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ is generally considered – even by the author herself – as a book that is (in addition to being fiction) experimental and uncategorizable. The book covers the exuberant lifestyle and struggles of punk music-loving teenagers and the overall punk rock music industry.

Every story in ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ is gripping and captivating in itself – forming an independent narrative of their own while also having at their tail ends the right story transitioning techniques to help blend the thirteen stories in a single narrative.

The book is one of the most innovative books since the 2010s given that it’s studded with several unique literary techniques – among which are the use of non-linear narrative style, and a multi-perspective storytelling technique (told in the first, second, and third person). Additionally, the book also includes a whole chapter done in PowerPoint slides – and another in the form of a magazine news article.

While there aren’t many books decorated with such abundant literary features, some books can still be regarded as being similar to Jennifer Egan’s ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ masterpiece. One that is perhaps more worrisome to be included in this list is ‘The Candy House’ – which is a sequel to ‘Goon Squad‘ and follows a very similar literary prototype. Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Kindred’ is another similar book in this category for the fact it’s more subtle than most books and deals a great deal in a non-linear narrative, including flashbacks and flash-forwards and trips to and fro through time.

The Lasting Impact of A Visit from the Goon Squad