Tag Archives: literature

Supercontext: A Visit From the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

Cartoon of tuning pegs and neck of a bass guitar; title

This 201 award-winning work of literary fiction has been celebrated by everyone from academics to Rolling Stone. But we look at it in light of its cultural expectations, from a “high brow” publisher, to its timidity about engaging with ethnically diverse characters.

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Additional Resources:

  • A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan ? review
  • “Goon Squad”: Jennifer Egan’s time-travel tour de force
    • CS Note: Salon’s site is so full of ads and video overlays that I could barely read the article as it slowed my computer to a halt.
  • HBO Sets Pulitzer Prize Winner ‘A Visit From The Goon Squad’ For Series Treatment
  • Strong, M. J. (2018). Found time: Kairos in A Visit from the Goon Squad. Critique, 59(4), 471-480.
  • Cowart, D. (2015). Thirteen Ways of Looking: Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Critique, 56(3), 241-254.
  • MOLING, M. (2016). “No Future”: Time, Punk Rock and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Arizona Quarterly, 72(1), 51.
  • “Water, Water Everywhere,” By: WHELDON, WYNN. Commentary. Nov2017, Vol. 144 Issue 4, p60-62. 3p.
  • “Big Novelist: Jennifer Egan,” By: Heller, Nathan. Rolling Stone. 5/31/2012, Issue 1158, p66-67. 2p.
  • Bookclub-in-a-Box Discusses A Visit From The Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan, By: Godfrey, Laura; Egan, Jennifer; Herbert, Marilyn; Bookclub-in-a-Box (Firm). [England] : Bookclub-In-A-Box. 2012. eBook., Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)

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Supercontext: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer


The first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy focuses on humanity’s weird relationship with nature and how we react to the unknown. We look at how VanderMeer wrote the book, the unique publishing strategy behind it and his choice to strip the characters of their identities, while still representing an all female cast.

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Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow


We try to unpack what little is known about this author, while providing a “succinct” description of the book. Along the way we discuss the publishing industry, book awards, obscenity, themes and the mythical reputation this tome has garnered over the years.

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Lost in the Stacks, Episode 354: 97% Eclipse of the Heart


Guests: Jim Sowell of the Georgia Tech ObservatoryLisa Yaszek of Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and Morris Cohen of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

First broadcast August 18 2017.

Playlist at https://www.wrek.org/2017/08/playlist-for-lost-in-the-stacks-from-friday-august-18th-97-eclipse-of-the-heart-episode-354/

“Where did the 3% go?”

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Supercontext: China Miéville’s Kraken


China Miéville’s novel Kraken is a meandering fantasy comedy full of political themes and a love for weird monsters. How does this author manage to weave together so many themes and genre into one book? And why does he think J.R.R. Tolkien is a “wen on the arse of fantasy”?
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Supercontext: Laird Barron’s Swift To Chase


One of the best horror writers of our time is experimenting with genre and structure in his new “mosaic novel” collection of stories. How does Laird Barron bring together Alaska, dogs, cosmic horror and inevitable death to make a new kind of literature?

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