Book 3 - A Visit From the Goon Squad

A Visit From the Goon Squad

by, Jennifer Egan

288 pages - 4.5 stars

If you're a fan of books (like I am), you've probably heard of Jennifer Egan. She kept popping up in various NPR podcasts talking about her newest book, A Visit From the Goon Squad, and at some point I added it to my Amazon wishlist (for the record, my Amazon wishlist is not for the faint of heart - I am constantly adding books to it and not remembering why) and then chose to purchase it for my Kindle App - not an insignificant feat given the number of books I weed through to choose one.

Not really remembering much about this book (or the author, for that matter), I went into the book without a lot of expectation... and was blown away. This was a book chosen for my commute (thus, the Kindle purchase) but it quickly sucked me in and I was reading it at home - on my phone. Nevertheless, the book pushed on and made me forget I was reading it on a 3.2 inch screen. It was really quite a wonderful book. I'll admit I'm a bit of a snob with books sometimes so an author's popularity can work against them in my mind - but I stand corrected with Jennifer Egan (on at least this book). The fanfare is warranted, the interviews reasonable - this book is really quite good.

Now, who should read this book? Well, the book chronicles a group of folks (punk fans) across multiple decades. Everyone is connected in some way (whether it be obvious or founded on the thinnest of hairs) and their stories merge and disconnect across the years in ways that alter others' course - or not. It's a wonderful portrayal of life in a way - some people "make it", some people don't; there are losers and victors, villains and victims; and each character is multi-dimensional so that one minute you're on board with them and the next, aghast at their decisions. You get sucked into the minutiae of their lives - because this book isn't really about grand events or anything like that; it's the story of multiple lives intersecting in various ways. Do you like music? Read the book. Do you like books? Read it. Do you like music and books? Stop reading this and go to the bookstore.

All that said, it's good. The characters are real and solid - you want to know what happens to them. You're invested in their lives and you're happy (or sad) with them. It's a real story with real people in it. I liked this book so much, I wanted to find people to give it to (Hi PVG!).

And, I guess I'm not alone, because A Visit From the Goon Squad won the Pullitzer Prize for fiction. Congrats Jennifer Egan, I'd like to see more!

Bob's Sandwich Challenge: Round 2

Happy Memorial Day Dear Readers! A very happy holiday found Nate and myself at Bob's Italian Food Imports once again for the resurgence of Bob's Sandwich Challenge. According to our pre-determined sandwich bracket, Round 2 found the mighty Meatball Parm facing off against the underdog Seafood Salad. Anticipating a win in favor of Meatball Parm, we camehome with a small Meatball Parm and only a roll of the Seafood Salad.

Though I don't want to spoil the results for you, I will tell you that the Meatball Parm was pretty delish - the meatballs are mighty and nicely browned, clearly homemade. I prefer a bit more sauce on my Meatball subs but this one wasn't hurting for much. The Seafood Salad too was pretty good. It surprised both of us when Nate actually finished off his half of the roll. From what I can tell, the Seafood Salad is comprised of some shredded "crab" (probably whitefish) with chunks of lobster and crab in a mayo dressing. They do a really good job of n

ot letting the seafood get overwhelmed by the mayo (as is always the risk) but the shredded "crab" was mostly distracting - not adding much to the sandwich expect bulk. The sandwich was much improved by the addiction of tomatoes, pickles, and hot peppers - adding the contract between salad and condiments that made both that much better.

I admit we'd both sort of written off the possibility of a Seafood Salad victory but it put up a fight.

In the end, we had to go the route of meat and cheese (shocking) as the Meatball Parm was pretty damn good.

The contenders:

Meatball Parm		Seafood Salad
Meatball Parm (cross)		Seafood Salad (cross)

Book 2 - The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

The Aquariums of Pyonyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

By, Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot

272 pages - 3.0 stars

After reading Nothing to Envy last year, I got on a bit of a North Korean non-fiction kick. I've got a stack of new books and started it all off with this book. The story of North Korea, the gulags, and all of the stuff that's been going down there is really interesting to me, especially given how little I knew about it before reading Nothing to Envy.

The Aquariums of Pyongyang was a bit different in style - more of one person's experience with and account of spending a decade in the prison camps of North Korea. It was an interesting perspective and did have details that Nothing to Envy didn't but I have to say that I didn't like it as much as Nothing to Envy. The story was very powerful and it was interesting to get a single person's perspective but I appreciated the journalistic style of Barbara Demick's book and the many interviews that were included in that.

If you're into personal accounts of terrible things (no judgement, just calling it like I see it!), this book is probably in your wheelhouse. If you're looking for more of a report on North Korea, I'd check out Nothing to Envy.