Month: January 2023

  • Personal Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

    I used to manage a theatrical rehearsal space, and we saw lots of people come in and out of the place every day. I will say this about the theatre community; it is well read. I say this because of the amount of books left in the Lost and Found box. Sadly, the majority of the lost books were never recovered, and after a month, if still not claimed, it was open for the staff to take them. That is how a paperback copy of A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan entered my life. It was in my possession at least for seven years before I decided to read it over the Christmas holiday.

    Goon Squad won the Pulitzer and the National Book Critics Circle Award back in 2011, and I had heard good things about it for awhile. I went into it knowing nothing of the plot, characters, structure or anything. I did know who Jennifer Egan was, and I liked her writing, so I was looking forward to reading it.

    The book is structured in an “A” and “B” side, like a vinyl album, which is fitting as the novel is about people in, on the periphery of the music business, as well as the people who know the people in and on the periphery of the music business. As such, each chapter of the book is like a song on the album, so the chapters are not telling a linear story, but behave more like songs on a concept album – held together by a theme. What Goon Squad reminded me of was Rachel Cusk’s Outline Trilogy and her novel Second Place, in that both authors are looking for new ways to approach the novel form, especially with the emphasis on theme over conventional plot to keep the narrative moving forward. That right there made me enjoy Goon Squad.

    Yet, I did find the two issues stuck in my craw with this book.

    First was the character of Bennie, who along with the other character Sasha, are the closest the novel comes to having main protagonists. For lack of a better description, Bennie is a middle aged record executive, and former puck musician, who is not handling being middle aged very well. I am still amazed at how often in contemporary/modern literature, that the middle aged, sad male character is used. It’s such a stock character, and hasn’t changed since his debut back in the late 50’s or early 60’s. I was hoping that Egan was going to challenge the cliche, such as turning this Updike/Cheever type character on its head. Unfortunately, Bennie gets mired in the stereotype of being divorced, having a distant and disgruntled child that he can’t figure out how to connect with, and his penis stopped working like it used to, and that takes up a lot of his energy. Luckily, Bennie doesn’t dominate the book.

    My second issue was the final chapter, “Pure Language.” Set a few years in the future from the rest of the stories, it is the only one that doesn’t land. I think it’s due to trying to get this final story, or song on this concept album, to wrap up the whole theme of the book. Bennie is in this story, but it revolves around a character named Alex, who was featured in the first chapter, along with the other main protagonist Sasha. There is a lot happening in this story, which feels at odds with all the other stories which are more focused and concise on what they are trying to say. And due to this, the book lands with a sloppy thump, thus denying us the ending that the theme of the book deserved. Sticking the landing is hard.

    Believe it or not, I did enjoy this book. It doesn’t sound like it, but I did. It is well written, and very funny. And I liked that Egan did play with form and structure, using the world of the record business to address how we all get older, things change, and sometimes we start to become people we no longer recognize. This was best exemplified by the character of Sasha, who I wanted to hear more from in the best way possible. Her journey was the most honest of all the characters. A conventional author would have written a book just about her, but Egan chose to just give us glimpses of Sasha’s thoughts, and then gave us a hard look on how her actions affected the lives around her.

    I enjoyed reading A Visit from the Goon Squad, and Jennifer Egan is a writer that keeps pushing for new ways to tell stories, which is something that I deeply respect. The novel form cannot stay stagnat, and it has to evolve as soceity and culture evolves as well. I u

  • Short Story Review: “Future Shock” by Peterson Berg

    (The short story “Future Shock” by Peterson Berg appeared in Rejection Letters on January 9th, 2023.)

    (SPOILERS AHEAD! – I think…)

    I know I have brought this up many times before, and I will be bringing it up again, but I really am enjoying all of the stories that are now coming out that are dealing with how Covid affected us. (The other night I saw a trailer for “Sick” which I believe is a horror movie set during the pandemic. I mean, if there is a film genre that is primed to deal with the anxiety of Covid, a horror movie seems pretty damn perfect.) Though the story “Future Shock” is not an overtly Covid story, I feel the pandemic is in the subtext Peterson Berg’s piece.

    Sorry to overly simplify the story – the narrator watches the movie “The Parallax View” a thriller starring Warren Beatty from the 70’s. There is one specific scene in the movie where a woman is trying to convince Beatty that people are being killed and she will be next. Beatty doesn’t believe her, and that scene jump cuts to the woman, now dead, laying on a table in the morgue. The viewing, and then obsessing of this scene leads the narrator to make a few quick and rash life decisions, which then cause him to withdraw from the world. After a few intervention attempts from his sister, the narrator is able to return to the world, at which point his with drawl may have been due to cold feet of upcoming events.

    The resolution of the story did strike me as bit of an easy button to end the piece, but what I feel brought me to that conclusion was that Berg did an excelent job of building up the anxiety, obsession, and confusion taking place in the narrators mind. And though this is not a stream of consciousness story, Berg’s writing does a great job of telling how the narrator latches on to this one scene from that movie, and keeps looking at it, replaying it, examining it, looking for some new revelation or discovery. All the while, the narrator makes quick observations of the world around him, and the tiny space he occupies in his apartment. A wonderful sense of claustrophobia is created in this story – of being trapped in this place, but also in the narrator’s thoughts.

    We might be past the dangers of the pandemic now, but I think we are now coming to terms that we all did some slightly weird or crazy shit to get through it. I am clearly in the camp that we should explore what that experience was like, and not ignore or deny what we went through. “Future Shock” is a welcome story to remind me that I also did obsess on a few things to get through it.

  • Ready to Work Again

    My little family has been pretty lucky through the Pandemic, up to present. My wife has a very good job that covers things, and the kid is in a good school not too far from our place. I stepped into the role of stay-at-home-dad because the wife had the job, and I didn’t, and for our family, after some adjustment, it has worked out well. The wife gets to focus on her career, and I take care of the family, especially the kid, which also allows me a little extra time to focus the blog and writing.

    The one sticky wicket in this situation is that the wife’s job is allowing us to get by, and not ahead. A few months ago, we had the hard conversation that there needs to be a second income for us if we want to do, well, grown-up things; pay down debt, save for the kid’s college, retire, maybe even buy a house. (Though the writing is going well for me as I have yet to earn a dime, let alone get published anywhere. Besides that, it’s going great!) We both agreed I need to find some sort of work, part or full time, so we can get back on track. That’s what is best for the family.

    Now, I haven’t had a normal, regular job since January 2020. Three years out of the labor market is a long time, and I won’t lie either, I have been having some anxiety about getting back to work. My last two jobs weren’t the most fulfilling experiences, which is making me shy to get out there as I don’t want to repeat those situations. I try to remind myself that I have learned from those jobs, and know not to make the same mistakes, but there is still a “twice shy” affect that happens when I look at the want ads. But I had made a promise to my wife that I would start looking in January.

    So, with all of these thoughts and emotions flying around me, coupled with the fact that when I went job hunting, it would turn my stomach, I started to drag my feet on this promise. Finally, the other night, I had to admit to the wife that I’m nervous about working again. Then I called it for what it was, I’m scared about going back to work.

    And we talked about it. About what I was feeling, and where it was coming from, and what I could do about it. She reminded me that I can take my time on this job hunt, and look for something that is the right fit; that I don’t have to take the first job offer that comes my way. And most importantly, if I find myself in a toxic work environment, just quit. No more trying to tough it out – just leave.

    With that, I am back to looking for a job. I mean, I still have my issues, that I need to work out on my end, but yesterday, when I checked the job sites, I didn’t feel like throwing up. I wasn’t jumping for joy or anything, but I was looking at positions, and thinking, “I would be okay doing that.”

  • ODDS and ENDS: Gym, Tottenham, and Naps

    (Yup…)

    I’m not a fan of working out, but I went this morning, thus completing the goal that I had set out for myself; Just Show Up. I showed up, and did thirty minutes on the treadmill. I mean, I’m not stupid – I haven’t worked out in five months, so there is no point in me killing myself on the first day. I will say, there were a crap ton of people at the gym. Yes! All of us lazy ass people are trying to start the year off on the right foot. (Let’s see how many of you are still around in February.) Anyway, it wasn’t that bad, and I know that I am starting our slow. Trying to work my way back to four days a week. Just need to keep showing up.

    With the World Cup over, I am back to following Tottenham Hotspur. The last three matches have been a bit of a letdown with a win, loss and a draw. Sure, the last outing was a win, but they are playing like they did before the Cup break – they go down in the first half, and then have to dig out in the second. It’s like I’m better off if I start watching them after half time, as that’s when the team shows up. Frustrating is putting it mildly. But, on Saturday, they have the FA Cup match against Portsmouth, and then the big one on the 15th – The North London Derby. A big test against a rather unstoppable Arsenal. It’s about to be a very tough month for Tottenham, so I hope they can figure out their first half issue.

    And… I might take a nap today.

  • Trouble Getting in Gear

    The third of January was the day I was going to get my life started on the right foot. Also, I thought God needed more laughter in his day. Either way, I had spent part of my Christmas vacation thinking about my daily schedule, what I wanted to get accomplished, and being healthy and shit. You know, like most people do at the end of the year. I talked to the wife about it, as some of this would affect her as well, and I have come up with a system that will work.

    First of all, I needed to set out my goals, again, no real surprise there. I want to write more, eat better, sleep better, more active role in the kid’s education, and… yeah, I think that’s it. Really, it’s like rolling goals.

    Anyway, I set out a schedule, and if you know me, again, no surprises here. I made time for chores, and the gym, and writing. Working with the kid, making dinner, and you get the point. I over scheduled myself, and I’m okay with that. As of this moment, I haven’t worked on any fiction though that will be remedied today, and I haven’t been to the gym, but that’s a Friday thing. So, all is going to plan.

    With the exception of this blog. Other than the little New Year’s post, I haven’t created anything for this platform. I have some stories I could review, and God knows I have enough silly opinions I can’t wait to share, but I found myself lacking the motivation to post. I am posting today, so it’s not like I am in a debilitating situation. Just… not feeling it.

    I might be maligned due to the ending of a vacation, or could ramming your head into a wall constantly for two years have an adverse effect on determination? Maybe more changes are needed?

    Maybe I just need to get to work.