A Visit from the Goon Squad Discussion #4: Sasha & Ted in Italy

"Good-bye, My Love" (p.157)  Sasha's Uncle Ted goes to Italy to search for Sasha, who had been missing for two years.  His journey is being paid for by his sister, Sasha's mother. 

Do Ted's recollections of her childhood explain Sasha's behvior?  To what extent is Sasha's "catalog of woes" representative of her generation as a whole?  How do Ted's feelings about his career and wife color his reactions to Sasha?

What does the flash-forward to "another day more than twenty years after this one" (p.175) imply about the transitory moments in our lives?

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

A Visit from the Goon Squad is a mash-up of interlinked stories with Bennie Salazar, aging rock producer; Sasha, his kleptomaniac assistant; and the people intersecting their lives.  Egan received the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for this work.  She was interviewed on Morning Edition - NPR in 2010.

The book is divided into Part A and Part B.  We will discuss the stories of Part A through October 15.  Discussion of Part B will begin on October 16 (or thereabouts).  Get ready to tell everyone what you think of Bennie, Sasha, Scotty, Alice, Jocelyn and Rhea.  How much do their lives from the late 70's to the late 90's resemble yours?