Jennifer Egan – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

“… without a story, it’s all just information.”

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

June 4, 2022 by booktrovert 4 Comments

I have to start by saying I never did get around to reading A Visit From the Goon Squad, I can’t really say why – I think it came out at a time when I was not really able to prioritize reading, given little kids and jobs – there were some years when my children were quite little that I did read, but it was mostly Stephen King novels, or Shirley Jackson, or just re-reading whatever was on my bookshelf. So I missed the sibling novel, […]

“That we have some history together that hasn’t happened yet.”

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

April 6, 2022 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Why do I keep waiting so long to dig into word-of-mouth and critically acclaimed smashes? Twelve years later (and not a moment too soon), I finally get The Fuss around A Visit From the Goon Squad. I remember reading The Keep near the official release date, but Goon Squad eluded me for over a decade…or perhaps I eluded it? On the upside of being a latecomer, I am more likely to find these books in my neighborhood’s Little Free Libraries. Hooray! I love how “a novel” is emphasized on […]

It’s no Goon Squad, but Egan is an impressive writer

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

December 26, 2021 by Sophia Leave a Comment

My first experience with Jennifer Egan was A Visit From the Goon Squad. I loved that book; it’s one of my favorite books of all time. Well, my brother and his wife gave me Manhattan Beach (2017) by Jennifer Egan for Christmas awhile ago (probably in 2017). Even though I knew I wanted to read another Egan book, I kept putting off Manhattan Beach. I had trouble finding the time for a book I owned when there were always new library books to read. I felt kind of bad […]

This one did not meet my expectations

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

September 30, 2021 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

This novel should have been an easy like for me. Set in New York during the pre-war and WWII period, Manhattan Beach explores women’s factory work, the dangerous world of diving, and the merchant marine. It also involves a mystery — that of the missing father. The problems for me involve both character and plot development. At the end, I was wondering why characters behaved as they did and why the significance of their actions was not better explained. The central character of Manhattan Beach […]

Somewhere beyond the sea, cement shoes are waiting for me

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

December 16, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

This might be the first book in a while that I’ve bought from Goodwill that was worth the dollar I paid for it. Manhattan Beach is one of those books that fits together like puzzle pieces; there’s nothing extraneous in this story even if it doesn’t necessarily feel densely plotted. But the themes of fidelity, self-sufficiency, and generational passage resonate quietly in the background. No character or quirk is wasted. Anna, our protagonist is deeply connected to her father, and drawn in young adulthood to […]

It began the usual way, in the bathroom of the Lassimo Hotel.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Jeff Buckey's Grace (33 1/3) by Daphne A Brooks

Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over of the Sea (33 1/3) by Kim Cooper

July 28, 2020 by vel veeter 1 Comment

CBR12Bingo – Music This is a three parter. A Visit from the Goon Squad – 3/5 Stars This book has the honor of being the very first book I ever got from Audible. I got it when it won the 2010 National Book Award and I think that audiobook is the best format for this novel as well. The novel is a series of narrative and short stories linked together thematically around music from the 1970s through some unclear point in the near future. […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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