Book Review: The Candy House

A Two-Minute Book Review

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

I have a hard time reviewing books that blow my doors off. I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the author’s mastery and genius. Whatever I say, it won’t be enough.

Things that contributed to my adoration: (1) I read A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD immediately before, so the characters were fresh in my mind — complete with an org chart to help me remember who what who in the zoo. (2) I listened to it as an audiobook with an ensemble cast. The narrators were exceptional, including Michael Boatman, Lucy Liu, and a deliciously “automaton-like second-person narration” from Alex Allwine that was my favorite section in the whole book (Lulu The Spy — 2032). (3) I love speculative fiction and interlacing short stories.

Do you agree with me on one of those three? Then read on.

As in GOON SQUAD, Egan uses first person, second person, third person…all the POVs, in timeframes from the 1960s to 2030s, in a variety of styles (including an entire section of forwarded emails. You might think that wouldn’t work on an audiobook, but it was AWESOME.). The stories and characters interlace in ways that call out for a character map but are easily followed without one. I felt a thrill every time I saw another connection. Looking and re-looking at scenes from different perspectives and timeframes made them that much richer.

I loved and appreciated the Pulitzer Prize-winning GOON SQUAD, but thought this one was even better. It already has a spot on my 2022 Top Ten and even higher praise: It deserves a re-read.

I listened to the #audiobook on loan from my local library using the @Libb.app and my trusty @sudio earbuds.

This was on Barack Obama’s Summer Reading List. What books on his list did you read?