Tony - Somerville, MA (341 books)

Tony is now friends with James Leighton

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This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
by Daniel J. Levitin

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Tony rated a book 5 of 5 stars

The Sisters Brothers
by Patrick deWitt

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Kind of a mix of Clint Eastwood's movie Unforgiven and something from Cormac McCarthy. Patrick DeWitt uses the old west as a back drop for a narrative on greed, violence and power.

Eli and Charlie Sisters head for San Francisco with murder in mind an...more

Tony rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The Sense of an Ending
by Julian Barnes

read in September, 2012

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In a wonderfully compact novella, Julian Barnes manages to offer big and new insights into the themes of the lost loves of youth and whether it's better to flame out young or muddle on through life apparently offending no one.

You would not think that...more

Tony rated a book 4 of 5 stars

A Visit from the Goon Squad
by Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)

read in October, 2012

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It might have been a Tony Gilroy interview in The New Yorker where I first heard the thought that we, as mega consumers of television, books and movies, have seen and heard so many stories we can't find anything new under the sun. As a result, storyt...more It might have been a Tony Gilroy interview in The New Yorker where I first heard the thought that we, as mega consumers of television, books and movies, have seen and heard so many stories we can't find anything new under the sun. As a result, storytellers have taken to teasing out stories, crafting narratives where crucial bits of the story get parsed out like flakes of gold. Using this limited field of vision technique, authors refresh the old, making it new.

Please bear that in mind as you read this review of "A Visit from the Goon Squad."

Egan sketches the lives of two central characters, a music industry executive – who is increasingly unhappy with the direction of the music business (aren’t we all) and his longtime assistant – as they grow from complicated teens to adults with character flaws and later finally find some comfort in their lives. Not an overly complicated story arc or even an original one when laid out end to end, but Egan doesn't let the narrative unfold from point A to point B, she starts in the middle skips back nearly a generation and closes a solid generation after the novel's opening line.

In that disjointed time phase and the way minor characters slip into the storyline take on major storylines of their own and eventually fade away, “A Visit from the Goon Squad” reminds me a lot of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.” It's as if Egan found a box of old photo albums picked a couple at random and craft stories about the people in the pictures. You know, when you pick up the albums, you don't always do it in chronological order and the people in your life gain and diminish in importance, which can be seen by the frequency of their appearances in the photos.

The book isn't for everyone, which can be seen by looking at the reviews and noting how many people loved or hated the book. For some people, entering a chapter in the middle of the action (a technique common among film writers) and then trying to get your bearings is not just disconcerting, it's not worth the effort. And frankly there are more than a few chapters where I found myself saying, “Okay, now who does this person know and where are they from?” It’s like getting to a party late, meeting a bunch of people and trying to figure out how they know the host. I thought it was the trouble just for the audacity the technique itself. Well that and I like to work a room during a party.

I also appreciated how the stories are told in a series of interconnected thing that's that either illuminate a person's character or propel them to a different state. If you go back across each of our lives, you can find moments, some big and some subtle, that tip our paths unalterably in a different direction. Sometimes those moments are made of things that we did or didn't do, and other times we simply bear witness to an event that push us past the point of no return. Not all the moments in our lives are made equal. Egan nails that.

She also understands that we live in a small, small world. Mentioning the butterfly effect is clichéd, but often the people who have the greatest impact on who we become have histories of their own that are unknown to us but make them who they are. Egan sketches out those hidden connections.

Finally, despite displaying an encyclopedic mind that hints at a past career as a college DJ, Egan never references Elvis Costello, a singer/songwriter famous for his wordplay (but who only late in his career put lyrics on his albums), wrote the song Goon Squad back in the late seventies. But I digress and date myself.(less)

Tony made a comment on Leslie's review of The Senator's Wife

"Notice you still read the whole thing."

Tony liked Leslie's review of The Senator's Wife:

" Rats, I though I was buying a book by Susan Isaacs. Cheap, fun, entertaining beach read. Instead I got a bland novel.

If you like phrases like "dusky, droopy genitals" then have at it!

"

Tony is now following John Cass's reviews

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The Average Joe's Guide to Play No Limit Texas Hold 'Em
by Michael Pignataro (Goodreads Author)

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Tony is now friends with James Leighton
Apr 29, 2013 06:22am · like
Tony is currently reading This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 24, 2012 12:22pm
Tony rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Kind of a mix of Clint Eastwood's movie Unforgiven and something from Cormac McCarthy. Patrick DeWitt uses the old west as a back drop for a narrative on greed, violence and power. Eli and Charlie Sisters head for San Francisco with murder in mind an...more
Oct 24, 2012 12:20pm · see review
Tony rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes read in September, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In a wonderfully compact novella, Julian Barnes manages to offer big and new insights into the themes of the lost loves of youth and whether it's better to flame out young or muddle on through life apparently offending no one. You would not think that...more
Oct 08, 2012 04:55pm · see review
Tony rated a book 4 of 5 stars A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author) read in October, 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It might have been a Tony Gilroy interview in The New Yorker where I first heard the thought that we, as mega consumers of television, books and movies, have seen and heard so many stories we can't find anything new under the sun. As a result, storyt...more
Oct 08, 2012 10:03am · see review
Tony made a comment on Leslie's review of The Senator's Wife "Notice you still read the whole thing."
Sep 10, 2012 04:30pm · see review
Tony liked Leslie's review of The Senator's Wife: " Rats, I though I was buying a book by Susan Isaacs. Cheap, fun, entertaining beach read. Instead I got a bland novel. If you like phrases like "dusky, droopy genitals" then have at it! "
Sep 10, 2012 04:30pm · see review
Tony is now following John Cass's reviews
Aug 22, 2012 12:04am · like
Tony wants to read The Average Joe's Guide to Play No Limit Texas Hold 'Em by Michael Pignataro (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 21, 2012 11:59pm
Tony added the Goodreads iOS app
Aug 18, 2012 05:56pm

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