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Candy House
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
15 posts | 20 read | 16 to read
Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Time, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Oprah Daily, Glamour, USA Today, Parade, Bustle, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, The Boston Globe, Tampa Bay Times, BuzzFeed, Vulture and many more! From one of the most celebrated writers of our time, a literary figure with cult status, a "sibling novel" to her Pulitzer Prize- and ?NBCC Award-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad--an electrifying, deeply moving novel about the quest for authenticity and meaning in a world where memories and identities are no longer private. The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is "one of those tech demi-gods with whom we're all on a first name basis." Bix is 40, with four kids, restless, desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or "externalizing" memory. It's 2010. Within a decade, Bix's new technology, "Own Your Unconscious"--that allows you access to every memory you've ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others--has seduced multitudes. But not everyone. In spellbinding interlocking narratives, Egan spins out the consequences of Own Your Unconscious through the lives of multiple characters whose paths intersect over several decades. Intellectually dazzling, The Candy House is also extraordinarily moving, a testament to the tenacity and transcendence of human longing for real connection, love, family, privacy and redemption. In the world of Egan's spectacular imagination, there are "counters" who track and exploit desires and there are "eluders," those who understand the price of taking a bite of the Candy House. Egan introduces these characters in an astonishing array of narrative styles--from omniscient to first person plural to a duet of voices, an epistolary chapter and a chapter of tweets. If Goon Squad was organized like a concept album, The Candy House incorporates Electronic Dance Music's more disjunctive approach. The parts are titled: Build, Break, Drop. With an emphasis on gaming, portals, and alternate worlds, its structure also suggests the experience of moving among dimensions in a role-playing game. The Candy House is a bold, brilliant imagining of a world that is moments away. Egan takes to stunning new heights her "deeply intuitive forays into the darker aspects of our technology-driven, image-saturated culture" (Vogue). The Candy House delivers an absolutely extraordinary combination of fierce, exhilarating intelligence and heart.
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review
BookishTrish
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

Read during a week where my screen time soared to six hours a day, I wanted slightly more tech from this story. It was very intricate work and I enjoyed it. Will reread to see the connections i may have missed.

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OneCent76
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Mehso-so

Weird book. Lots of short story type chapters that all connect. I almost gave up on this book! Main take away is would I add my thoughts and memories into a database for others to view? No, absolutely not.

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traa
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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SandySaga
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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review
Cinfhen
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

Such a wild ride! It took me a few chapters to understand that this was basically a novel of interconnected stories - where nostalgia and technology collide. Some stories worked better for me than others but honestly I couldn‘t put this book down. I‘m glad I opted to go print. Looking forward to discussing with my #IRLbookclub next week.

JackOBotts I just started this…glad to hear you enjoyed it! 1y
Cinfhen Hope you enjoy @JackOBotts - I‘m still processing and trying to untangle all the threads of this book. 1y
AmyG It tookme days to process this. Loved it. 1y
See All 10 Comments
Megabooks Glad you enjoyed it!! 1y
Megabooks You know I‘m an #EganFangirl 💜 1y
Cinfhen Glad you enjoyed it too @AmyG I think discussing at bookclub will be super helpful 1y
Cinfhen @Megabooks I know it😁 1y
BarbaraBB Great review. Somehow I haven‘t read this yet because it didn‘t really appeal but I will reconsider now! 1y
Cinfhen I only read it for bookclub @BarbaraBB but it ended up being quite clever 1y
Cathythoughts Great review! Stacked X 1y
78 likes4 stack adds10 comments
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Cinfhen
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Library hold just came in- this is for #IRLbookclub meeting January 3 - curious about this one

AmyG I loved it! Enjoy. 1y
Cinfhen The feedback I‘m getting from the book club ladies @AmyG is LOTS OF LOVE - however, I think I might need to go print ( I do own a physical copy) because they said it‘s a little confusing 1y
AmyG Yeah, this might be best actually read. 1y
Megabooks This is hard to follow on audio even though I enjoyed the multiple narrators. 1y
Cinfhen I had a feeling print might be better for me @Megabooks @AmyG 1y
65 likes1 stack add5 comments
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vivastory
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Live shot of me just now upon hearing the plot of the tagged book. I understand the concept, but I'm baffled why someone would sign up for Own Your Unconscious when it stipulates that other users can access your memories? Based on the mostly positive reviews, I assume she pulls it off but this is such a weird idea...

Megabooks I love her weird ideas tbh! 1y
vivastory @Megabooks I can see that. I think it's an interesting spin on the whole one person's utopia is another person's dystopia 1y
49 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Pedrocamacho
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

As always, I loved the quirky characters and interconnections in Egan‘s new novel. Fun as always.

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Avanders
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

Read this for #RealLifeBookGroup and…. Just loved it. I had read Goon Squad, though quite some time ago, and thought it was v good. But this one seemed to hit all the feels and 🤯🤯 at just the right time. The interconnectedness of it all… the varying methods of story telling… the heart. Loved it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Also, bugs at the aquarium store today… he wanted 5 snakes. But when I said he could have one, he wasn‘t interested. 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

UwannaPublishme What? Those snakes are so cool! 😂 2y
tpixie I want 5 snakes 🐍 or none!!! 2y
BarbaraBB Great review. Stacked! 2y
See All 7 Comments
MicheleinPhilly He‘s like me with books. 2y
Avanders @UwannaPublishme lol right?! But they were not cheap!! 🫢 @tpixie lol! See, you get it! 😂 @BarbaraBB hope you enjoy it!! @MicheleinPhilly 😳 so accurate!! 2y
BethM That‘s so cute! 2y
tpixie 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 2y
75 likes1 stack add7 comments
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Kristin_Reads
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Mehso-so

📖 6-21-22 || I love the cover on this (!) and how well-written it is. However, I‘m sure it must be me, but I find the style of switching back-and-forth in the interconnected short stories a bit difficult to follow.

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mklong
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

Like A Visit from the Goon Squad, it is composed of interconnected vignettes. Some are straightforward narratives, but Egan pushes us with the form of a few others. She is a writer who can seemingly do anything. She is grappling with issues of memory and privacy that affect all of us, but does so with an underlying sense of hope that the best of humanity won‘t be lost. I really loved this one!

BkClubCare I just finished the Lulu chapter!! Loving this and already hope to reread (Something I probably said about Goon Squad 🤦🏻‍♀️) 2y
mklong @BkClubCare Same! I think I liked Noreen‘s chapter the best, but they were all so good 2y
BkClubCare @mklong - I think I was about to post a quote! The fence dispute with the Salazars? 2y
46 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Gleefulreader
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

Was excited to read this follow up to Evan‘s A Visit From the Goon Squad. While not necessary to read the prior book, I think it is definitely more enjoyable if you do. I particularly enjoyed finding out a bit more of the lives of each of the characters from the first book. Told as a series of interlinked short stories, this is an examination of social media and the “outsourcing of conscientiousness”. Thought provoking.

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LittleMissSunshine11
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
Panpan

Sorry, I didn‘t enjoy it. There were a few chapters that I liked but I was glad when it was over. Obviously, she‘s a great storyteller but it wasn‘t my taste.

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PNWBookseller85
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

First of all, this is a fantastic audio book. Full cast. Secondly, it‘s just a great book. There were so many moments that caught me by surprise. I found myself in tears in my way to work after listening to one chapter in particular. The kind of tears that sneak up on you. It‘s really solid.

BkClubCare When I “reread” this, I will go audio. Ty 2y
62 likes1 comment
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Vansa
Candy House | Jennifer Egan
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Pickpick

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs
1. I like multiple POVs.I think Jennifer Egan is an absolute expert at this, a swirling narrative encompassing multiple perspectives, here's my review of the tagged book.Unmissable.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4553938663
2.Unfortunately not!
3. Mostly list of books but I'm quite flexible-for instance I saw the trailer for 'Under the banner of heaven', and started reading the book!

Eggs #3 That‘s a great one👏🏻👏🏻 2y
12 likes1 comment