Although the chapters of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad can be read as individual short stories, it is more appropriate for the text to be read as a complete novel in order to preserve the purposeful connection and flow of events and main theme. The chapters are made more meaningful through the interconnectedness of the characters as well as the order that the chapters are placed in.
A Visit From the Goon Squad centers around two main characters, Bennie Salazar, a former punk rocker and record label executive, and Sasha Grady, a troubled young woman employed by Bennie. All other characters in the novel are connected to them in some way. For example, Dolly, a formerly famous publicist, threw a party years before her chapter takes place that Bennie attended and her daughter, Lulu, takes Sasha’s old job as Bennie’s assistant. While each chapter focuses on an individual, there is always something tying them to Bennie and Sasha. The characters are also connected by the idea of Point A and Point B (and sometimes the desire to return to their Point A). For example, Lou tries to relive his youth by sleeping with younger women, Kitty, over the course of ten years, went from a young, promising Hollywood starlet to a tired has-been, Jocelyn, once young and pretty, is now a former drug addict still living with her mother. These characters have all been affected by the passage of time. These characters all bring a different perspective on the same theme, that “time is a goon” and will eventually take everything from you.
The order of the novel is also important, as it begins and ends with Sasha. The very first chapter is her narration, as she talks to her therapist about a date that she had with another character, Alex. In this chapter, Sasha is deeply unhappy. Living in New York City, surrounded by hustle and bustle, she feels lonely and isolated. The final chapter is Alex’s narration. Set far after his date with Sasha, he now works for Bennie. Throughout the chapter, Alex tries to recall Sasha’s name. When he finally remembers it, he mentions her to Bennie who says she had been fired a long time ago and must have moved on with her life. The closing sentences of this chapter and the book reads “he and Bennie both turned-whirled, really, peering for Sasha in the ashy dark. But it was another girl, young and new to the city, fiddling with her keys.” The girl they see represents a repeating of the cycle of time, a Point A that will be eventually turned into a Point B. If this event was not placed at the end of the book then it would lose its significance as a symbol of rejuvenation and reiteration of the book’s main theme, Time.
The chapters in A Visit From the Goon Squad can, without difficulty or confusion, be read as individual short stories and nothing more. However, acknowledging Egan’s placement of the chapters and intricate web of characters provides a deeper understanding of her message in the novel. The theme of A Visit from the Goon Squad, the passage of time, is most clearly evident through the interconnectedness of the characters and purposeful order of the chapters. By reading A Visit from the Goon Squad as a complete novel, one is able to more clearly see the theme of Egan’s work, that time robs you of your youth, success, and vitality.
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