I don't know if it is a statement on my exhaustion, or in a better light a statement on my empathy, I find myself fence sitting a lot more than I use to. I would like to say it's because I am thinking more critically, but I worry that my exhaustion is resulting in lazy circluar thinking. The sort where you shrug your shoulders and say "only God knows the truth" or some other vague "let's not think about it" statement.
To combat this, I have been trying to focus more on what I am doing, reading a book, playing a game, having a conversation. I really want to be more engaged, or at least get myself above the dreaded "pseudo intellectual" or "bar stool blow hard" level. I would rather be a rank amateur; thoughtful but not getting paid to be so. The most recent challenge to my striving for mental decisiveness has been a book called "a visit from the goon squad" by Jennifer Egan.
Goon squad is a very cinematically structured book. A collection of short stories/vignettes over time that circle two characters who worked in the New York music industry. They are only main characters in of the two early stories, but serve as the sun around which the other stories orbit. I mention movies as the stories come together like those collage films, Love Actually being one example, where you have a bunch of seemingly unrelated scenes that tie together around a theme, or a character. I should also mention that it is non linear.
As with the montage film, goon squad has a variety of styles, defined by narrative style rather than cinematography or lighting. The narrative styles are a mix of reliable/unreliable, first person, second person, etc; a potpourri of style.
Now we come to my dilemma. In the circle of readers I find myself in, the feelings towards this book is split. A definite love/hate dynamic that doesn't seem to have a lot of grey. Which is the problem, as I find myself in the grey, or rather wishing to be in the grey, but am confronted with to passionate lists pro and con from my fellow reader. Worse, depending who I am with, I take the other side, trying to force the consensus back to the middle.
I know one could argue that this is a matter of taste where they can be no winners, only losers. Yet, I feel there is an answer to the question "is it a good book?". I am finding it elusive, leaving me hiding on the fence. I have thought a lot about this book, trying to get past other's objections/praise and find what I think and whether it make sense. Create a clear picture of the book in my mind without over thinking it. I humbly present where I finally settled down.
The Goon squad is not a "moving" novel, it does not have a strong current running through or a narrative that forces the reader along. It feels more fragile. To read through it, left me feeling as though I had walked though a photo or modern art exhibit. A theme presented to me at the entrance to a white hall with simple wood floors, dotted by makeshift walls upon which the pieces hang. Each piece unique,but solitary, despite being only a few feet from each other and supposedly linked by the aforementioned theme. To walk too quickly through the gallery, you see nothing that is there, but to linger too long you see what is not there.
The Goon squad refers to time and it's relentless crushing of one's story. Crueler than death, bringing despair through your desires and dreams. The story give a sense of being all that remains, what fragments have been captured before it will all fade as things do. This is conjecture as, most of the characters are not Patrick Stewart and lack the philosophical gravitas to muse on the life's journey though time.
This is all really good, but I have not addressed my reservations. There are many jarring moments in the book. Power point presentations that are not really power point presentations, second person narratives, dropped characters, questionable futures, stereotypes. I found myself kicked out of stories because of the cliches. It felt very movie like again. A music producer loses his mojo, multiple broken marriages, New York minute of fame, the PR suit, secretaries being stronger than their bosses, rich people struggling for status. I remember thinking that I was reading more of an idea of New York than actual New York.
Some of these conflicts were body of knowledge issues. I have seen the power point presentations made by children and they are more photo and graphic heavy. The text speak was jarring as auto correct is destroying the dialect. The mega corps and high society seemed off note for me. A sense that more time was spent on style. It made me feel like the awkward kid at the party who doesn't understand what teenage cool is.
I end with fragility. The book really felt like crafted glass at point, demanding careful suspension of disbelief or trust less it the whole project will collapse on itself. To those that dislike the book, this seems to be their chief complaint. A sense that this was an exercise in narrative styles then a story, or collection of characters. This I think is the crux of my fence sitting. There is a lot of wonderful in this book, taken as whole, the experimenting representing the fickle nature of our life's archive. My wish had been for more depth in characters, but then that might have shattered the whole thing. This was a book about the silences that make music.
Is it a good book? I would say it is an okay book. It made me ponder structure. The characters did briefly touch me, but felt more silver screen than real. A book for my head but not my heart. A great book should do both.
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