#36 in Literary fiction
A Visit from the Goon Squad
- 368
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 0 weeks on the list
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“A Visit from the Goon Squad” turns formal tricks that could have been gimmicks into the most natural way of telling its story about time. Thirteen linked stories jump across decades and between people around a record executive and his assistant; working out the connections is much of the fun. Some readers find few of the characters likeable, and most are seen only briefly, so those who want one steady protagonist may feel adrift.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
A Visit from the Goon Squad is a 2010 novel by American author Jennifer Egan. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2011. The book is a set of thirteen interrelated stories with a large set of characters all connected to Bennie Salazar, a record company executive, and his assistant, Sasha. The book centers on the mostly self-destructive characters of different ages who, as they grow older, are sent in unforeseen, and sometimes unusual, directions by life. The stories shift back and forth in time from the 1970s to the present and into the near future. Many of the stories take place in and around New York City, although other settings include San Francisco, Italy, and Kenya.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.5 across 536 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 78% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Literary fiction average of 8.1. That is how 7.7 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 6.9 | 25 | 5% |
| Google Books | 7.0 | 11 | 2% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 500 | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is A Visit from the Goon Squad?
It has 368 pages — shorter than 55% of the ranked books in Literary fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Literary fiction — with scores between 7.4 and 8.0, closest to this book.
