The Book Club is reading “A Visit from the Goon Squad” in April.
Like many people, I tend to judge more harshly books that have received copious amounts of attention. I like to root for the underdog. I wouldn’t say I’m a contrarian, but with all the wonderful lesser-known writers out there, I find it difficult when a really big book gets all the love. That said: I am one-hundred-per-cent with the band when it comes to Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit From the Goon Squad.” I’m joining the screaming masses. I could not be happier that the book won the both the the N.B.C.C. Award and the Pulitzer, and that Egan just closed a deal with HBO to turn the book into a series.
Despite or because of how much I loved “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” I found myself wondering how to do it justice, especially in light of my fellow clubbers’ utterly excellent takes: Jon’s reference to Jack Gilbert’s poem “After Love,” Sally’s comparison of the book to an album, and Vicky’s honest, lovely writing. So I did what this book is begging us to do, and I made a chapter-by-chapter playlist. It's based less on the content of each chapter than on the mood it stirred in me. I can only hope that it’s a worthy addition to all the brilliant Egan criticism out there.