Jennifer Egan Plays with Form

Twelve years ago, Jennifer Egan won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “A Visit from the Goon Squad.” It was wildly successful and totally original. Now she has written a companion novel - a continuation, if you will - “The Candy House.” The premise is intriguing and while impossible, it lends itself to many opportunities for Jennifer to write in different styles. The premise is that it has become possible for a person to have every one of their memories, since birth, encapsulated in a box and every one of those memories can be recalled. In fact, a person can get access to someone else’s memories if willing to share their own. Every chapter is written in a different style - but all fit together nicely. Pulling that off, and she does, is literary, a feat of no small proportion. You need not have read “Goon Squad” to enjoy “Candy House.” But listening to Jennifer may well make you want to. This week we take a pause from talking to an independent bookstore. Kate and Charlie discuss what they’ve learned from their first ten podcasts.

Books Mentioned:

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

The Keep by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes by Kathleen Lines and Harold Jones

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Happy For You by Claire Stanford

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Preston & Child's Agent Pendergast Series

The Power Broker By Robert Caro

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (Yes, Charles Gibson read it. And yes, I am listing it. Sorry, dad.)


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