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A Visit from the Goon Squad
- Narrated by: Roxana Ortega
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
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A Visit from the Goon Squad
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Summary
Jennifer Egan's spellbinding audiobook circles the lives of Bennie Salazar, an ageing former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Although Bennie and Sasha never discover each other's pasts, the listener does, in intimate detail, along with the secret lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs over many years, in locales as varied as New York, San Francisco, Naples and Africa.
We first meet Sasha in her mid-30s, on her therapist's couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to avert the suicidal impulses of her best friend.
We meet Bennie Salazar at the melancholy nadir of his adult life - divorced, struggling to connect with his nine-year-old son, listening to a washed-up band in the basement of a suburban house - and then revisit him in 1979, at the height of his youth, shy and tender, revelling in San Francisco's punk scene as he discovers his ardour for rock and roll and his gift for spotting talent.
We learn what became of his high school gang - who thrived and who faltered - and we encounter Lou Kline, Bennie's catastrophically careless mentor, along with the lovers and children left behind in the wake of Lou's far-flung sexual conquests and meteoric rise and fall.
A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones, Egan captures the undertow of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption; and the universal tendency to reach for both - and escape the merciless progress of time - in the transporting realms of art and music. A sly, startling and exhilarating work from one of our boldest writers.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about A Visit from the Goon Squad
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Compass
- 08-05-24
Different and interesting.
This is an amazing book. Each chapter is in own short story, and each story links a different group of characters together, so that in the end you know them all, and care for them all.
My listening was greatly enhanced by reading the Wikipedia entry on the book which explained the complex structure and listed the characters. This stopped me from ever getting lost in the interacting complexities of the stories and the ever shifting time frames.
Not the easiest of books, but one that really does repay the effort to understand it. Recommended.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Victoria
- 21-01-24
It’s okay
The book is 13 interconnected stories which sees multiple characters weave in and out of focus and different time periods. Given the structure and sheer volume of characters, you don’t really get to know more than a few with any depth, so if character development is what you most connect with, it might be worth reconsidering. There is some good and sometimes clever social commentary, but it’s hard for me to see what was so outstanding that it won a Pulitzer. Perhaps its connection to Proust’s work? The PowerPoint chapter is relatively unique, but I’m not sure it works as well on audio. The book was just ust okay for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-05-18
Beyond Brilliant!
The first audio book I have got to the end and simply started again: it was so rich with complex characters, interweaving plotlines and poetic imagery. If anything, it was even better the second time than the first - and it was already the best audio book I have ever listened to. Manhattan Beach is a treat too but this is definitely the best!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lindy lou
- 18-12-21
Great story
Hang in there! it's gritty and at times you might think what is going on here but it's a non guessable ending that will leave you satisfied
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben Wyer
- 18-01-18
loved it!
The book has the simple structure of a series of stories featuring a cast of characters, all told from different perspectives. The stories move forward and backward in time and together create a portrait life and the music industry in the late 20th and early 21st C with a glimpse of a possible future. The book is beautifully written and captures portraits of individuals and significant moments in their lives with sharp clarity and a perceptive warmth and dry humour.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bárbara
- 05-01-24
Beautifully woven story that clutches the heart
Jennifer Egans writing in this book is perfect for an audio adaptation, due to nature of the themes of the book. Her characters are extremely enticing and I’ve found myself getting emotional at the rawness that dripped from each one of them. Some chapters left me disturbed, others made me laugh, others made me clutch my heart- the kind of book that brings you on a rollercoaster that after the initial scare, I never wanted to leave. The narrator did a great job, initially I was a bit put off by the slow cadence of her words and her dead pan delivery but she breathed life into some of the characters in a way that it will be hard for me to separate her interpretation from the written character. Couldn’t recommend this book more!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bee
- 20-12-17
Good, but a bit too many (very well chosen) words
This is obviously a well written book, but it just goes on a bit and is ultimately about nothing much. Nonetheless it held my attention however what I take to be the powerpoint section-more particularly the lists, was really boring and what was the point of it-autistic people like lists so what?
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. J. chick
- 14-08-19
awesome what a great recommendation
awesome what a great recommendation, kept me intrigued & involved til the end , especially good for folks like me born in 1978 or thereabouts I think.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-01-22
A really intriguing narrative.
This book, a pseudo novel presented as short stories that loosely tie together as one complete whole, is glorious. Incredibly well written and planned out perfectly.
The performance of the reader is very good, with only a few minor niggles in delivery here and there.
Highly recommend.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pippa
- 16-06-22
intriguing, funny, sad, clever.
apart from the really annoying PowerPoint chapter, loved this. each character deserved there own book, but the fleeting glimpses of their lives became so enticing when they pop up again, sometimes as an aside in someone else elses tale. I shall be thinking about this book for some time. now off to radio 4 to hear the author talking to an audience about how she writes.
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