A Visit from the Goon Squad in Overdue Podcast

Jan 01, 2023 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

“I’m done. I’m old, I’m sad - that’s on a good day. I want out of this mess. But I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.”

Thieves, the lot of us - we take from each other, we steal from ourselves, the greatest thief is Time itself, and all of our thieving is simply trying to hold on to some little piece, to clutch at something for a little while before the inevitable, it or we will be no more.

Interc
“I’m done. I’m old, I’m sad - that’s on a good day. I want out of this mess. But I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.”

Thieves, the lot of us - we take from each other, we steal from ourselves, the greatest thief is Time itself, and all of our thieving is simply trying to hold on to some little piece, to clutch at something for a little while before the inevitable, it or we will be no more.

Interconnected stories ripple and weave, the perspectives change and with each perspective Egan changes the style, the format. The whole is literally unique, I haven't read anything else quite like it. This book leaves me thinking. Some of it seems less of a natural read, more forced, less finished than other parts. At points you feel might feel manipulated or like that characters are being manipulated, pulled along in a cruel or unnatural way, and I think that's okay, that's life, that's Time on this Earth. The tick tock of a life going by, the decisions we can't take back, the impacts to those we touch, the meaninglessness and the meaningfulness, everything is fleeting. I feel like I am going much more to the sentimental in my thoughts of "my one short and glorious life" than the book does, but while the stories never come off saccharine (mostly they are edgy and sharp) they do leave the reader to take the thoughts where they may, even if that's existentially fuzzy. This is more an exploration than a thesis. Ask the questions, live your life, and feel - take advantage of the moments and seconds, they may be all you have or you may live to see the great thief time pick your pocket over and over again.

Is there anything that seems more haggard and aged than the stars of yester-year? They lived hard early, stole what they could while they could and paid the price in Time.

“Time’s a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?” Scotty shook his head. “The goon won.”

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Apr 30, 2015 tysephine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, literary-fiction

A different style than I'm used to, very inventive. Each chapter is like a separate story tangentially related to the others. Each chapter has a "main character" that is somehow vaguely related to the others. I loved how different each character's story was and how different the voice felt for each one. The PowerPoint chapter made me skeptical at first, but it turns out you can tell a pretty deep, emotional story with just PowerPoints. Go figure. ...more

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Dec 14, 2019 John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Really well done. It's a great portrayal of the frustration of getting old, and she's very good at being profound in subtle ways without beating you over the head with the point. My only complaint is the last two chapters felt a bit forced. I don't think she needed to prove how woke she was with the ending. The brilliance of the first two-thirds makes it well worth the read. ...more

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