Paul_c_small
Reputation: 449
Follow 0
Follow 1

Does this book have a main character?

When I started reading A Visit from the Goon Squad, it took me a few chapters to get it out of my head that the story was going to eventually return, with a strong focus, on Sasha. I wanted her to be the protagonist because she's such a powerfully sketched character. And I think you can make the case that she is the protagonist.

But other readers could make a strong case that it's ultimately Bennie's story. The book was interesting in that it didn't feel like an ensemble piece to me; it felt like a biographical sketch. But I can't quite tell whose biographical sketch it is. I guess to simplify things, the question could be phrased this way: When this book becomes an HBO series, who will the main character be?

Paul Constant asked in Book Club- A Visit from the Goon Squad 12 months ago | Report
New answers are not being accepted at this time.
Latest Greatest

3 Answers

  • Photo_74_small
    Reputation: 2
    Follow 0

    I think a series would probably pick out Sasha/Bennie, but neither could then really keep true to the book. It's so much easier to take this as a series of sometimes-interconnected vignettes than a novel, with each story having its own main character than the book overall.

    laurenoh answered in Book Club- A Visit from the Goon Squad 12 months ago | Report
    Comment on this answer
    Share this answer with a friend:
  • David_library_small

    Interesting, Paul: I get what you're saying about it not feeling like an ensemble piece, and yet I also can't feel there is really a main character. Maybe this says something about the way that all these diverse narratives neverthless seem to contribute to the same set of concerns about living or the same feelings or - (dare I say it?) - the same 'theme.'

    ew, icky, ptooey: hate that theme word. But I do think it applies: perhaps the main character is the Goon Squad, with all that entails and implies. Time's fell hand rests of all these characters and their paths in a way that it is hard to ignore.

    David Wright answered in Book Club- A Visit from the Goon Squad 11 months ago | Report
    1 comment by Black Beetles in Amber…
    Share this answer with a friend:
  • Bierce1_small
    Reputation: 640
    Follow 0

    Yeah, I didn't feel any particular attachment to any character, aside from perhaps the ASD kid at the end.

    I felt it would have been more successful as a series of short stories rather than dancing around but never quite unifying the subplots. I'm sure they'll strengthen the roles of Sasha and Bennie in the series, their characters tied up most all of the plotlines.

    Black Beetles in Amber answered in Book Club- A Visit from the Goon Squad 12 months ago | Report
    Comment on this answer
    Share this answer with a friend: