Jennifer Egan’s 2010 novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, is comprised of 13 intercorrelated but separate stories. From Sasha’s kleptomania and empty lifestyle to Bennie Salazar’s teenage musical career, Egan depicts the modern world through her unique storytelling. This essay will discuss Egan’s narrative technique and analyze the universal message behind each independent story.

Contemporary readers value plot, and the fast pace of life makes it difficult for readers to enjoy a tale that is torn into scattered pieces. Narrative complexity often makes novels hard to follow, disturbing, and elusive. Egan’s pioneering technique completely undermines the common notion of the importance of the central story line. A Visit from the Goon Squad disregards linear temporality and travels back and forth between episodes, narrating the story and background of each character. However, even though her 2011 Pulitzer Prize for fiction seemingly acknowledges the narration technique as a groundbreaking success, I do not find reading the book very enjoyable. The narrative makes it difficult to locate the focus of each individual story. It still remains unclear why Egan begins the story of Bennie Salazar’s middle age crisis while Sasha’s conversation with her therapist, Coz, lacks resolution. Similar problems appear later in the story. Chapter 3’s examination of Bennie’s teenage music career also fails to provide significant relevance to previous or later sections about him. Imagine enjoying your meal at a restaurant. Before you are done with your appetizer, the chef delivers the main dish. That is how I felt while reading A Visit from the Goon Squad. There is too much content, and the story rushes through it.

The novel’s complex symbolism also fails to deliver novel insight. Reflections on time, identity, and loss pass through the story. The Twin Towers frequently emerge. Their presence is eerie, but the buildings ultimately fail to relate to any of the characters. Additionally, character growth has nothing to do with the given themes. As the story goes back in time, readers witness Bennie’s teenage punk rock career, which is certainly chaotic, devilish, and, most of all, weird. Except for meeting Lou, the content of these flashbacks does not elucidate why he is who he is years after. The chapter is unnecessarily explicit. Egan’s purpose is unclear when she depicts his teenage romantic relationship, since the event does not yield further outcomes. The great potential of the story feels wasted in moments like this. The symbolism is inspiring, but the scattered process depresses the enjoyment the novel gives. It is hard for readers to understand the symbols, since there is a lack of connection between symbol, character, and theme.

The absence of character development is another issue bothering my reading. If narrative experimentation constructed a more complete character, it would be beneficial. However, Egan fails to develop any one of the characters in this novel; rather, she depicts multiple characters with insufficient information and inefficient descriptions. Readers don’t see Sasha overcoming her problem; they don’t observe how teenage Bennie ends up with a failing middle age life. This is unconventional, since readers focus most on the development of characters. Witnessing how characters overcome difficulties is one of the most desirable reading experiences. We don’t get that in A Visit from the Goon Squad. Personally, I failed to understand why Egan brought in so many minor characters—they were treated as unidentified disposables, existing for no clear or significant reason.

A Visit from the Goon Squad is novel in many aspects, but that does not imply that it is of genuine quality. The turbulent and unorganized reading experience was not pleasant. Egan’s unique storytelling technique has failed to impress me deeply.