Jennifer Egan-A Visit from the Goon Squad

Själva storyn har man hört för: ungdomar som har för mycket ledig tid; som dricker, tar droger och ligger med i princip vem som helst. Men sättet boken är skriven på är ovanligt. Det finns redan liknande i filmvärlden så som i filmen Babel eller i tv serien Sopranos. Vilket får en att förstå varför HBO har visat intresse med att förvandla boken till en tv serie, som kommer ut nästa år.Egan tar kapitelindelning, känslan av rum och tid, och variation i narrativ till en helt ny nivå. Varje kapitel är som en separat kort novell, där man får lära känna nya karaktärer, åtta personer totalt, som kommer och går igenom boken men i en annan tidsperiod från kapitlet innan. Egan förflyttar sig mellan det förflutna, nutid och framtid flera gånger genom boken. Det händer ofta att jag måste bläddra tillbaka i boken för att riktigt kunna sätta mig in i den rätta tiden och platsen.Vänskap, förhållande, sex, tid och musik är några självklara teman genom boken. Men något som inte är lika självklart är den stora närvaron av barn i boken. Nästan varje kapitel innehåller något barn av stor personlighet och oftast flickor. Medan de vuxna fortsätter att se tillbaka på sin ungdom, det de har upplevt eller gått miste på- ångrar eller glädjes åt så ser de i nästa generation framtiden och hoppet. Barnen är mogna och realistiska jämförelse med de vuxna.Kapitel tio är det enda kapitel som är skrivet i andra person- ovanligt och väldigt svårt att göra, men intressant att läsa. Det näst sista kapitlet är skrivit i nutid, i första person av en tjej i tonåren, i enbart symboler och diagram som påminner en om en power-point föreläsning. Vilket också får en att tänka på de böcker som tonåringar läser just nu. Många av dem som är fyllda med pratbubblor, tecknat och bilder. För just så här talar och tänker barn idag-det ska gå snabbt och det ska vara visuellt. Likaså i sista kapitlet, som äger rum i framtiden 2020, då byggnaden i Ground Zero har byggts upp, där en stor del av texten i kapitlet är skriven i sms språk- framtidens språk, kanske Egan tycker.Tiden spelar en viktig roll i boken. Allt knyter oss samman med tiden och hur den förändrar oss. Som i näst sista kapitlet där det beskrivs detaljerat pauserna i musiken vilket är lika med pauserna i tiden- tiden står still. Vilket den också gör för personerna i boken. ’Time is a goon’ säger en av karaktärerna i boken. Tiden blir det onda, bokens offer- det som förändrar oss när vi inte märker det som tvingar oss att växa upp. En förlorad tid är lika med den brustna drömmen.’A Visit from the Goon Squad’ vann både National Book Critics Circle Award 2010 och Pulitzer Prize 2011.

'The Namesake' by: Jhumpa Lahiri

Beautiful book. So gentle and calming. The language Lahiri uses feels unforced yet powerful with meaning, sense of place and color. It affects you unknowingly.
The authors own voice came across clearly and one knew that this was something she felt very strongly about. The contrast of the two cultures Indian and American was the main point of the story.

'Freedom' Jonathan Franzen

Another one to add to the read again list. Enjoyed it very much although throughout the whole book I had an underlying feeling like there was something missing. Or that I wasn't getting the whole point to the book. There was a lot of politics and discussions surrounding the politics that maybe me wonder if there was a double meaning to it.
However obvious the title was to the rest of the book it was still a good and intersting point to make. Noone is free. There are always other obligations that will keep us going a certain directon and even those who have tto much freedom will make the wrong choices.
Patty has too much freedom-she has a free amount of space, time, money, contacts.
As the book developed I enjoyed the characters more and more. At first I didn't get a conection from them. As they were being described when younger I understood them, but I never really felt Patty's development from star athelete to alcholic, suburban housewife and mother. When did that happen? For me she was a completely different person.
Also throughout the book, but especially in the beginning it felt like there was a speaker voice like in the American series Desperate Housewives-almost this sarcastic tone of voice telling us what was going on.
As a description of our time though I think it was very good. Politically, environmentally, relationships, socially and so much more. I think it has hit the nail on the head. There are tv series feeling this void as well as documentaries and movies and non-fiction books. But as far as I know this is the first fiction novel that has spoken so openly about this period in time and described this kind up middle/upper class people in America.
The sections with Walter speaking were at times a bit long winded but i still believe that this type of writing is needed to portray the characters correctly. Although of course one might see the chracter of Walter as being the one most like Franzen himself. This novel is very clearly the authors own way of getting his point of view across.
I lacked images in this novel. There were no descriptions-not even many of the characters. There is little feeling about what is going on. It's all tell and no show. The reader gets no opportunity to think for themselves-Franzen tells us what we should think.
But also that is relevant for our society today. But an open mind never hurt anyone.

'One Day' David Nicholls

Brilliant-absolutely brilliant! Not a bad word to say against it really.

Fit every shoe of what a book like this is supposed to be like. Funny, witty-brilliant, quick dialog. So well written! Took me by surprise to be honest-although it has only gotten good reviews.

It never slowed down-keeping a natural flow and a steady pace through out the book. At first my initial reaction was to criticize the back and forth narrative between the characters. Thinking: 'that's not allowed, you have to stay with one character until the end of a paragraph or the end of a chapter.' But he didn't. The characters were practically speaking on top of each other. And it worked so well, such a flow of multiple characters consciousness.

The story line was very good as well and only once did i know what was going to happen, but surprisingly not towards the end. If a book manages to do this to me it makes me very happy.

I liked Emma and Dexter very much as well, they weren't too exaggerated they weren't too much, but simple and very realistic.

At times I got vibes of Bridget Jones Diary, kind of the same-trying to find a partner, trying to find the right career angle.

I wondered if David Nicholls might have portrayed himself more in Emma than in Dexter-or was he possibly a little bit of both? His own life was seen to be a struggle in two different ways and in two different characters. Possibly at two different times of his life?

Same with the other characters in the book -are they portraying real life characters? As he mentions at the end that some of the things which are used in the book actually come from things which his friends have said.

There are not many descriptions, no explanations, and even few metaphors. The scenerey is described through the characters actions and dialog-almost like a screen play....ahah! Of course! It says that he has written loads of screen plays! Of course he's going to have a break through as a Hollywood screen play writer-this book is going to become a movie! I can't believe i didn't see it earlier!! He could have used that in the book, but i guess that would be jinxing it a bit.

I can't do it...

That's such a negative thought.

How is it that we are so different? And why is it that we always want to be like someone else? Why do some people have no difficulty with some things while others will struggle with it their whole lives?

There are people out there who simply glance at a text and they've memorized it and understood it. Me? It takes forever. I need to sit down and take in every word. I won't remember it and I won't understand it. I need to work twice as hard in everything I do. And even then i struggle. I have a tendency to know this about myself, but still it catches me off guard, and sometimes I will use this to give up.

How come yet again everyone is so far ahead of me? I've read everything I can see, listened to everything I've heard of and done everything I can afford to do-and yet I'm so far behind. Although...is this true? Have I? Have I really struggled or am I simply moaning? Things don't come easy. We all have to work hard in achieving what we want. But, is it just me or do some things come easier for others and more difficult for me? I don't like moaning and I don't want to make up excuses. Oh, I'm dyslexic-I can't do that so I'm not going to even try!

I don't understand...again...

If I do have difficulties in understanding and learning things then what CAN I do? Still waiting to find out I guess...

What angers me the most are these people for whom everything is so easy and then they don't do anything with it! They just have to read one thing once or do one thing once or listen to something once and they understand it. Politics, maths, writing, reading, languages-there is so much... But then they don't do anything with it!!!! They simply sit at home or have some dead end job! While I'm here working my ass off to understand the simplest things! Why can I not have some of their talents? I want to know and understand the things which they know and understand.

I just hope, although sometimes I'm not so sure, that maybe they struggle with things in which I'm good at. I don't know what though.

'The History of Love' by Nicole Krauss

The History of Love- what an awful title of a book! I was never interested in reading this book because of it's title. I didn't judge it by it's cover but by it's title. I had no idea what the book was about, but the title made me not want to read it. I had preconceived ideas what the book would be about, how it would be written as well as the type of people who would read it.

What made me eventually pick up the book and read it-you might wonder... besides the fact that people kept on recommending it to me. Well a woman came into the library not long ago and asked for the book. She said people had kept on recommending it to her and she'd always put it off because of it's title, but she had now eventually decided to give a chance.

I had recently finished reading my own book and felt i needed a bit of an easy read.

I starting reading this book thinking i was going to read some easy, lovey-dovey crap that would take me a couple of days to read.

How wrong i was...

It wasn't a difficult book, but the language used was sophisticated. But the set up of the book was completely logical if you knew it was going to happen. Since i starting reading with the impression it would be so easy i didn't even concentrate while i was reading and therefore missed the plot right from the spot-silly me!

There was hardly, if any, lovey-dovey stuff. It was more history than love...

I love how it contained so many different characters that you needed to keep track of. I loved the little stories on the side of the main plot and my favourite angle in any novel is when the separate stories intertwine and come together.

I think it was written well. Not a lot of underlining meanings or metaphors. And as usual the turning point arrives in the middle of the book...

It was a good read-besides the title. That's all i have to say about that...

Finally someone who spoke out about it!

http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/debatt-essa/dags-att-prata-om-det-1.1229359