Thought provoking, unique and clever

‘Nothing is free only children expect otherwise even if myths and fairytales warn us’

‘The Candy House’ is a sequel to Jennifer Egan’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘A Visit From the Goon Squad.’ However although it isn’t essential to have read that novel in order to make sense of ‘The Candy House’ for it to be fully appreciated I would advice you do so, otherwise you will be missing out on so much. And to be honest it’s probably a good idea to have read it recently as some of what happens depends on a clear memory of the events in that novel. This is because ‘The Candy House’ is at its heart a novel of memory.

As well as memory it is also a novel about technology, the title ‘The Candy House’ is taken from Hansel and Gretel and is a metaphor for the sugar coated delights of the internet and social media, ‘Never trust a Candy House.’

‘A Visit From the Goon Squad’ was a novel comprised of a series of interconnecting short stories, stories that weren’t told in chronological order and were written in numerous narrative styles including a Power Point presentation. If you navigated that book successfully then you shouldn’t have any problems with this as it’s written in a similar style again delivered in small bites (or should I say ‘bytes’) and styles. The stories are all told in different voices and different ways including a story written in email format and one as a set of field instructions to an agent. And like the first book the stories aren’t in chronological order. The stories are intriguing and complex and are populated by a richly imagined set of characters. The way the book is written can leave you a little disoriented but I loved that, the feeling of uncertainty, trying to work out where it was going or what would happen next. I particularly liked the challenge of working out which characters from Goons each of the chapters in Candy House were about. At no point in the book was I bored or found my mind wandering, it’s totally engaging. I actually think it’s better than ‘Goon Squad’.

The book begins in 2010 as Bix Boulton over hears a conversation concerning downloading or "externalising" memory. Within 10 years he has produced ‘Own Your Unconscious’ a new piece of technology that allows you access to every memory you've ever had, and to share it with others in exchange for access to their memories. The consequences of that technology is seen through the lives of several characters who’s lives intersect over several years. Focusing on social media, gaming and role playing such as Dungeons and Dragons Egan explores the darker aspects of a world driven by technology. At the centre of this Egan finds a human race so wrapped up in the cyber world that it struggles to connect. Her characters yearn for real physical connections such as love and the intimacy of family, most of the families here are dysfunctional. At times the advances in technology move the novel into the realms of Sci-Fi, technologies that allow anonymous people inside your head, inside your own private world. The thought that there could be spyware inside you, it’s a frightening concept. And yet it isn’t that far removed from our lives today. How many of us regularly give up parts of our lives and share our dreams and almost every thought through Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc with hundreds if not thousands of anonymous people. That isn’t a frightening concept, that’s reality.

‘To hell with God’ Fern said ‘I am worried about the internet.’
‘By which you mean an all seeing all knowing entity that may be predicting and controlling your behaviour even when you think you’re choosing for yourself’ Eamon asked.’

There is a part in the story in which Egan takes us back to 1991, where there are no computers, no mobile phones, no intrusive controlling technology, just a regular family interacting and engaging with each other at a child’s baseball game, a happy family. Is this just rose coloured glasses? There is no question the advances in technology enhance our lives, but there is a heavy price to pay.

‘The Candy House’ is a thought provoking novel, it’s clever, exhilarating and masterfully told. Jennifer Egan is a truly unique writer and I would thoroughly recommend it, but I would also urge you to read ‘A Visit From the Goon Squad’ first if you haven’t already.

The story is narrated by several different people which works really well with stories being to,d by a multitude of different characters.

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1 person found this helpful

immense

immense clever modern intriguing entertaining visionary although this is a collection of many stories they interlink beautifully such that the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and each part stands on its own

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Best audible book this year

beautifully narrated every sentence shimmers, every character shines. it's deep, it's funny. as good as if not better than Goon Squad. will re read and re listen to savour it again.

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a sensation

I think the sensation is head-spinning. I'm not sure where it went or how it got there but the journey is a trip.
Helps if you read Goon Squad but that's an amazing book too as is
the v different Manhattan Beach.
Read everything she writes.

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Brilliant!!

Absolutely Brilliant!!!! So many fascinating ideas. Jennifer Egan captures our current challenges perfectly. I loved it.

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Emperor's Clothes?

I note this book has received near universal acclaim from reviewers at the time of writing. Certainly the writing and performances are both excellent, and some story strands were engaging and thought provoking. Unfortunately my little brain struggled to retain all the various characters and understand how everything fit together. It all seemed a little tenuous tbh.

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Compelling listen

So many interconnected stories, jumping forward and backward in a timeline and yet the thread of the story remains. A truly exceptional book, I got through it in a couple of days

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Impossible to follow

The writing is very original and the story opening is compelling, but after a while it becomes impossible to connect between all the characters and their stories (unless you use an excel), and the final chapters stop making any sense. I usually enjoy complex narratives and had no problem tracking the storyline in my favourite book ‘Hundred years of solitude’ (despite the fact most of the characters have almost the same name!), but in this case I gave up and stop reading with 1h left.

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Fabulous

I loved the book with humans - families and friends- in the future, still being humans but such a big “cast” I did not always remember who was who’s sibling or cousin… 😊 Great how it all tied together. Recommend!

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A bit confusing

This was selected by my book club, It seemed like it was multiple stories with a very thin line running between them….left a bit confused!

However performances were great loved the multiple narrators

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