A Visit From the Goon Squad

I got a lot of chuckles out of this one...the author creates a large ensemble cast and follows them from the early eighties through today and into a not too distant future. Her focus is on the punk rock world of the lower east side and alphabet city.

"Time is a goon", and Egan is merciless in dissecting the ravages of age on a generation of rockers set on early demise. The day after I finished reading this I found the obituary for Ari Up, lead singer for the Slits, who died last week at the age of 48.

Like the old movie "Pulp Fiction," the chronology of the story is totally chopped up and rearranged. However, it spans decades rather than days, and one entire chapter of the story is carried completely through PowerPoint slides.

Plenty of fiction leaves me bored stiff, this did not. I am currently reading (listening actually) to an earlier work by the same author, "The Keep." I recommend this as well -- like "Goon Squad" it combines fantastic inner dialogue with other worldy humor. Andy