"What kind of book is Goon Squad? A collection of novellas? Linked short stories? Goon Squad consists of 13 pieces that work either as stand-alones (in fact, three of them were published separately in The New Yorker) or as a sculpted, uniform collection of disparate parts. Certainly, the sculpture creates a fuller representation, since an incident merely brushed over in story A will get its due in story B, or C, or D.
A side note, if I may. Egan has mentioned that Pulp Fiction influenced her a great deal while writing Goon Squad. In 1994, when Pulp Fiction burst onto the scene, with its startling nonlinear storyline, punchy dialogue, pop culture references and humor juxtaposed with rank violence, a whole new phenomenon was created—so much so, no one knew quite where to place it. Was it a riff on a black comedy? A film noir? A neo-noir? Who knew a story could be designed this way? Then came 21 Grams and Memento and Inception—smart, fast-paced stories assembled as though a team of architects designed them. Were their creators one step ahead, or two? Or didn’t it matter anymore, because audiences were now prepared for nonlinear, think-outside-the-box storytelling?"
YouTube review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kdvZLuYod0
Visual interactive character map from the current book A Visit from the Goon Squad (click)
What Wikipedia has to say about Goon Squad
And the New York Times review
More links than you have time to read:
Reading Group Guides
Thwok review
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