Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts

Sunday, July 25, 2010

A Visit from the Goon Squad

by Jennifer Egan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, c. 2010, 274 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-59283-5

The chapters of the Goon Squad are made up of intertwining stories and characters that snake through the lives of Bennie Salazar, former punk rocker and aging music producer, and his assistant Sasha, a mucked up young woman with kleptomania impulses. Stories are told at different times in the characters lives and the book spans decades even to a dystopian future as Egan delves into a touch of science fiction.

This is a captivating book and Egan's voice is both prophetic and subversive. If you ever wonder what happened to the life you imagined for yourself in your youth, only to realize that you grew up, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book to read.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Title: Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publication Date: 2006
Number of Pages: 183
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Geographical Setting: New York City
Time Period: late 2000s
Series: N/A

Plot: Nick meets Norah at the club where his band is playing. He asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes to avoid the girl who broke his heart. These five minutes turn into a night-long first date full of moments of passion, awkward silences and some great music.

Subject Headings:
music scene, boy meets girl, bands, New York City, broken hearts, true love, straight edge

Appeal: story is told by both title characters in alternating chapters, nice guy doesn’t “finish last” message, music and pop culture references, popular movie adaptation, Nick is a bassist for a queercore band but he is not gay, both characters are straight edge, Norah is Jewish and some talk of concepts of Judaism, coarse language and descriptions of sexual experiences

If you liked Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, you might enjoy: Robin Benway’s Audrey, Wait! Susane Colasanti’s When it Happens.