Week 14.1: Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

 Reading:
Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad, 84-136

Study Questions:
1. Bosco, decrepit old rocker, declares in "From A to B" that, "Time's a goon, right? Isn't that the expression?" (127). Clearly, this made-up expression is important to the novel given the work's title. What does it mean that time is a goon? What is a goon? How does this expression help clarify the themes of the novel, particularly in the previous chapters?

2. A Visit from the Goon Squad has been described as a "networked" novel, meaning that it builds its meaning through the social network of the characters. Draw a map of the relationship between all the characters that we have encountered thus far. Grades will be determined on the basis of completeness and legibility.