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A Visit From the Goon Squad

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Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page,  A Visit from the Goon Squad  is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption.

Extreme End-of-Decade Love for A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD!!

Grateful and Thrilled that GOON SQUAD has somehow remained in the conversation after ten years: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY :  Best Book of Decade Time Magazine :  10 Best Books of Decade ELLE :  15 Books that Defined the 2010s Philadelphia Inquirer :  20 Best Books of the Decade VOX :  19 Best Books of Decade Literary Hub :  The Best 20 Novels of the Decade

Minneapolis Star-Tribune  and  St-Louis Post Dispatch, by  Ellen Akins, 4/1/22

“Each [chapter] has its own language, its own tropes and terms, which Egan somehow manages to use and skewer at the same time, while maintaining the mystery that makes each person unique and worth knowing.”

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National Post (Canada), 1/10/12

“When finally I read the first pages, I was transfixed. For the next 36 hours I found all other activities bothersome because they took me away from this marvellous book.”

Pop Matters , 2/21/12

“I don’t like this so called high brow versus commercial dichotomy because I feel it isolates both camps in an area that I’m guessing no one particularly wants to be in.”

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Seattle Met , 1/26/12

“I just love not being attached to a machine…Maybe I lose something in terms of velocity, but I think I gain it in terms of freedom.”

BookTalk (UK) 1/10/12

“It feels like I am seizing upon details that suggest to me a life I don’t necessarily know, but is out there and has integrity. I could pursue it if I wanted to, but my goal is to keep my eye on this larger vision.”

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A Visit from the Goon Squad Summary, Characters and Themes

“A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan is a masterpiece of interlocking stories, each chapter a puzzle piece in a larger narrative spanning from the late 1970s into the 2020s. 

This novel breaks away from traditional storytelling, unfolding in a non-linear fashion that mirrors the unpredictability of life itself. Through a collection of vivid episodes, Egan explores themes of time, change, and redemption, drawing readers into a web of characters whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways.

The journey begins with “Found Objects,” where we meet Sasha, grappling with a compulsion to steal, during a therapy session. Her story intertwines with that of Alex, a date who becomes entangled in her chaotic world in a moment of vulnerability and connection. 

This initial tale sets the stage for a novel where personal struggles are laid bare, revealing the complexities of human nature.

As the narrative unfolds, we encounter Bennie Salazar, a record executive navigating the challenges of midlife, including a failing marriage and professional stagnation. His story, “The Gold Cure,” reveals the intricate connections between characters, as Sasha reappears, now working as Bennie’s secretary. 

Their shared moments hint at deeper, unseen ties that bind the characters across time and space.

The novel then takes us back to 1979 in “Ask Me If I Care,” where the punk scene provides a backdrop for the turbulent relationship between teenagers Rhea, Jocelyn, and an older record executive, Lou. 

This story offers a raw look at youth, love, and the consequences of our choices, connecting past and present through music and memory.

“Safari” brings us closer to Lou, exploring his complex relationships with his children and a younger girlfriend during a tense African safari. 

This story not only delves into the dynamics of a fractured family but also foreshadows the future, revealing the long-term effects of Lou’s actions on his children.

The narrative continues to weave through time, exploring the aftermath of relationships and choices in stories like “You (Plural)” and “X’s and O’s,” where characters face the consequences of their past actions, sometimes decades later. 

These chapters reveal the profound impact of time on individuals and their relationships, showcasing Egan’s skill in capturing the essence of human experience.

Part B of the novel introduces us to new perspectives, such as Stephanie in “A to B,” grappling with her identity and marriage in a new, affluent community. 

Her story, like many others, reflects the universal quest for belonging and the elusive nature of happiness.

“Dolly Peale’s” tale in “Selling the General” and the subsequent stories, including “Forty-Minute Lunch: Kitty Jackson Opens Up About Love, Fame, and Nixon!” and “Out of Body,” further expand the novel’s exploration of identity, fame, and the search for redemption in a complex world.

The narrative’s innovative structure reaches a poignant crescendo in “Great Rock and Roll Pauses,” a chapter presented through a PowerPoint presentation. This unique format captures the inner workings of a family, highlighting the novel’s themes of communication and connection in the digital age.

“A Visit from the Goon Squad” concludes with “Pure Language,” where the story circles back to Alex and the transformative power of music, tying together the threads of the novel in a reflection on art , identity, and the cyclical nature of life.

Sasha’s journey through “A Visit from the Goon Squad” serves as a central thread that ties various narratives together. Battling a compulsion to steal, her vulnerabilities and struggles are laid bare from the outset. Her complex relationships, notably with Alex and her boss Bennie Salazar, highlight her quest for redemption and the impact of her choices on her life and those around her.

Bennie Salazar

As a divorced record executive facing midlife crises, Bennie’s narrative is one of professional stagnation and personal despair. His attempts to reignite his passion for music and resolve his sexual dysfunction with gold flakes are poignant symbols of his search for meaning . Bennie’s connections to Sasha, his family, and his past, paint a picture of a man grappling with the consequences of his actions and the desire for connection.

First introduced as Sasha’s date, Alex reappears throughout the novel, ultimately showcasing the evolution of his character over time. His involvement in the music industry and his relationship with Sasha bookend the novel, providing a perspective on the changing nature of music, marketing , and interpersonal relationships in the digital age.

Lou’s character offers a glimpse into the darker side of the music industry and personal failings. His relationships with younger women, including Jocelyn, and his own children, unveil a man struggling with power, desire, and a deep-seated fear of obsolescence. Lou’s actions and their repercussions on his family, especially his son Rolph, underscore the novel’s themes of time and consequence.

Jocelyn’s story is one of lost youth and the long road to recovery. Her involvement with Lou at a young age sets her on a path of addiction and rehab. Her return to Lou’s life in his final days is a powerful exploration of forgiveness, the lasting effects of our earliest choices, and the possibility of healing from deep wounds.

As an insecure punk rocker, Rhea’s perspective provides insight into the complexities of adolescence, identity, and the search for belonging. Her friendship with Jocelyn and their shared experiences with Lou and the punk scene of the 1970s reveal the challenges of growing up and the enduring nature of friendship.

Rob’s story, “Out of Body,” delves into themes of love, betrayal, and the tragic consequences of unspoken desires. His friendship with Sasha and his own internal struggles highlight the novel’s exploration of identity, the pain of unrequited love, and the profound impact of our actions on the lives of others.

Ted Hollander

Ted, Sasha’s uncle, provides a perspective on family, art, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment. His mission to find Sasha in Naples offers a break from his unsatisfying life and reflects on the novel’s themes of escape, the significance of art in understanding ourselves and others, and the complex bonds of family.

Dolly Peale

Formerly a high-flying PR expert, Dolly’s fall from grace and her attempts to rehabilitate her career and relationship with her daughter, Lulu, through a risky venture with a dictator, encapsulate themes of redemption, the corrosive nature of fame, and the lengths to which individuals will go to reclaim their lives.

Kitty Jackson

Kitty’s rise, fall, and eventual comeback in the entertainment industry offer a critique of celebrity culture and the media. Her involvement with Dolly Peale and the subsequent scandal highlight the novel’s examination of personal integrity, the quest for redemption, and the public’s fickle nature.

1. The Passage of Time and Its Impact on Identity

Central to Egan’s narrative is the exploration of time’s relentless march and its transformative effects on the characters. 

The novel’s non-linear structure allows readers to witness the evolution of characters across decades, from the vibrancy of youth to the reflections of middle age and beyond. 

Through this temporal lens, Egan delves into how aspirations, relationships, and self-perceptions shift as the years pass. 

Characters grapple with the realization that time alters their dreams , ambitions, and connections with others, often in unexpected ways. 

This theme is poignantly illustrated in the contrasting lives of characters such as Sasha, who moves from a troubled youth to a more settled adulthood, and Bennie Salazar, whose journey from an aspiring musician to a jaded record executive reflects the compromises and losses endured over time.

2. The Search for Redemption and Connection

Throughout the novel, characters are driven by a deep-seated desire for redemption and a sense of belonging. 

Sasha’s struggle with kleptomania, Rob’s tragic quest for acceptance, and Dolly’s attempt to rebuild her life and reputation all highlight the characters’ efforts to find meaning and forgiveness in a world that often seems indifferent to their struggles. 

Egan masterfully shows how these quests for redemption are intertwined with the characters’ need for connection—whether it be through love, friendship, or familial bonds. 

The novel suggests that redemption is not just a personal journey but one that is inextricably linked to the relationships that shape and define us. 

The moments of genuine connection between characters, such as the poignant scene where Jocelyn and Rhea confront their past with Lou, underscore the theme that redemption often comes through the acceptance and understanding of others.

3. The Influence of Music and Art on Human Experience

Music and art permeate the novel, serving as a backdrop against which the characters’ stories unfold. 

Egan uses music not only as a motif that connects various episodes but also as a metaphor for the complexities of human emotion and the passage of time. The evolution of music styles and the industry itself mirror the transformations in the characters’ lives. 

Furthermore, the novel explores how art and music serve as vehicles for expressing the inexpressible, for connecting with others across the barriers of time and space, and for capturing the ephemeral moments of beauty and sadness that define human existence. 

The PowerPoint presentation on great rock and roll pauses by Sasha’s daughter, Alison, symbolizes the novel’s innovative approach to storytelling, highlighting how art forms evolve but continue to reflect the core aspects of our humanity.

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A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

• Publication Date: March 22, 2011
• Genres: Fiction
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Anchor
• ISBN-10: 0307477479
• ISBN-13: 9780307477477
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Time, Thrashing to Its Own Rock Beat

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By Janet Maslin

• June 20, 2010

A music mogul named Lou is one of the many characters who drift through Jennifer Egan’s spiky, shape-shifting new book, “A Visit From the Goon Squad.” Whether this tough, uncategorizable work of fiction is a novel, a collection of carefully arranged interlocking stories or simply a display of Ms. Egan’s extreme virtuosity, the same characters pop up in different parts of it. Lou is a case in point. He appears early and then burns through a few of Ms. Egan’s adjacent (though not consecutive) chapters, ending up very much the worse for wear.

Lou is the fulcrum of “Ask Me if I Care,” a section of the book narrated by a high school girl named Rhea. “Nineteen eighty is almost here, thank God,” she says, setting this particular section’s time, tone and intergenerational hostility. “The hippies are getting old, they blew their brains on acid and now they’re begging on street corners all over San Francisco. Their hair is tangled and their bare feet are thick and gray as shoes. We’re sick of them.”

But the slick, successful 40-something Lou, “a music producer who knows Bill Graham personally”, is no burnout. He’s living the high life, snorting cocaine and using his show-business clout to seduce teenage girls. When Rhea glimpses pictures of Lou’s children in his apartment amid the electric guitars and gold records, she has the guts to get angry at him. Lou taunts her by announcing that he’ll never get old; Rhea tells him he’s old already.

In “Safari,” the story that immediately follows, Lou is six years younger. His age can be pinpointed by a reference to the age of his daughter, Charlie, who is 14 in “Safari” but was 20 in “Ask Me if I Care.” Lou is accompanied on a trip to Africa by a couple of his children and also by his young girlfriend, a graduate student named Mindy. And Mindy is enough of a provocation to rattle other members of the “Safari” group, particularly Rolph, Lou’s teenage son.

Lou makes his exit in “You (Plural).” Here he is an old man dying in a hospital bed, and Rhea and a girlfriend from “Ask Me if I Care” come to say goodbye. They were high school students when he met them; now Rhea is 43, married and a mother of three. The encounter is sad but not poignant. All the people in these three Lou-related stories have been mugged by the goon squad of Ms. Egan’s title.

Ms. Egan uses goon as a synonym for time, as in: “Time’s a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?” Taking some of her inspiration from Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” as well as some from “The Sopranos,” she creates a set of characters with assorted links to the music business and lets time have its way with them. Virtually no one in this elaborately convoluted book winds up the better for wear. But Ms. Egan can be such a piercingly astute storyteller that the exhilaration of reading her outweighs the bleak destinies she describes.

It’s an understatement to say that every character in this book has a dark side. Sasha, the young woman with whom “A Visit From the Goon Squad” begins, has a compulsion to steal, and the array of objects she has filched looks “like the work of a miniaturist beaver.” In a book eager to incorporate the technology of its times into what its characters think and do, 35-year-old Sasha spends “Found Objects” on an awkward date with a man she met online. She winds up with his wallet.

Sasha has worked for 12 years for the Sow’s Ear record label as the assistant to Bennie, another recurring character. And Bennie is seen from his youth (eager to get into the record business, and wowed by Lou) to his prime, and then on a downhill slide. This book’s single most startling section describes Bennie’s encounter with Scotty, a damaged kid and former band mate of Bennie’s who has turned into a dangerously embittered failure. When Scotty wangles an audience with the all-powerful Bennie in Bennie’s New York office, he arrives armed with a fish that he caught in the East River.

Sasha figures tangentially in this story, “X’s and O’s.” She’s the gatekeeper at Bennie’s office, and she must spend some awkward moments with Scotty and his dead fish before Bennie saves her. As Scotty, narrating this chapter, reports, Sasha is visibly relieved when Scotty is whisked away and is not her problem anymore. “I gave her a wink whose exact translation was: Don’t be so sure, darling ,” Scotty says.

The showiest part of this acrobatic book is the part that doesn’t look like fiction writing at all: Ms. Egan spends 70-odd pages on PowerPoint charts meant to reflect the rogue thoughts of two adolescents, who turn out to be Sasha’s children. The passage of that much time moves “A Visit From the Goon Squad” somewhere into the future, but Ms. Egan clearly enjoys tackling such challenges. And if the PowerPoint ploy seems risky, it winds up being no less welcome than any of her other methods. She also makes chillingly weird use of text-message-ese: “if thr r childrn, thr mst b a fUtr, rt?” It takes temerity to even ask, let alone text, that question.

The children of the future give the book a flash of science fiction. Ms. Egan’s vision is mostly dystopian, but what makes it most memorable is the eccentricity. She imagines that the aftermath of 15 years of war have led to a baby boom. And technology has eagerly leapt to accommodate a new demographic group: gadget-loving children. Pity the poor rock stars who find themselves at the mercy of toddlers who have purchasing power. Ms. Egan slyly turns one “Goon Squad” recurring character into one of those stars.

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD

By Jennifer Egan

Illustrated. 274 pages. Alfred A. Knopf. $25.95.

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• A Visit from the Goon Squad Summary

by Jennifer Egan

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Timothy Sexton

It is 2008 and Alex and Sasha are out on what will prove to be their single date. When Sasha excuses herself to use the restroom her compulsion to take things that do not belong to her overwhelms and she steals the wallet. After watching the woman come out and frantically search for the missing item, Sasha heads back to the bathroom and is discovered red-handed. She begs the woman not to say anything and she agrees. Alex and Sasha head back to her apartment which is overrun with stolen items and have. Sex.

The year is 2006 and middle-aged record executive Bennie Salazar is trying yet again to make a connection with son Chris. On this occasion, the attempt involves visiting a band called the Stop/Go sisters.

The year is 1979 and carefree teenager Bennie Salazar loves hanging out with Rhea, Jocelyn, Scottie and Alice doing the whole sex, drugs and punk rock and roll thing. Scottie has it bad for Jocelyn, but Jocelyn enters into a relationship with an man named Lou Kline that she met while hitchhiking.

The year is 1973 and Lou Kline is a middle-aged music producer in Africa on safari with his kids and girlfriend. An encounter between Charlie, the 14 year old daughter, and a young warrior briefly gives a peek into the future of 2008. Later the safari members will witness the killing of a lion. Later, another glimpse into the future reveals a sad narrative for Charlie: brief membership in a weird Mexican cult, a cocaine addiction resulting the need for facial reconstruction surgery and a history of being dominated by men.

Twenty years after first meeting him, Jocelyn visits a dying Lou at his home, tagging Rhea along. By now, Lou’s kids number six and his marriages stopped after number three. When it slips Jocelyn’s mind that his first son Rolph is dead and she inquires about him, Lou begins to cry and Jocelyne slips into into a silent simmering anger that culminates with her assertion that she should kill him right now. He responds that it is too late.

The year is 199 and Bennie is a successful enough music producer to be featured in a piece published in Spin magazine. Scottie has not enjoyed nearly the same trajectory and reads the article in a bitter mood. He goes to visit Bennie in his office, but the meeting is awkward. As he leaves, he stops and hands Bennie’s card to a couple he recognizes who are pursuing a career in music.

Over the course of 2002-2004 Bennie and his wife Stephanie take up residence in a rather conservative suburb where their rock and roll attitudes are not exactly a perfect fit. To try to better assimilate, they apply for membership and accepted into a country club. Thing go much better for Stephanie who make a friend of Kathy, but Kathy’s husband Clay insults Bennie one night a party. Bennie washes his hands of the whole country club lifestyle, but Stephanie keeps it up behind his back. Time drags on and when a washed-up rocker named Bosco arrives to inform them of his plans for a comeback tour, the lies threaten to catch up with Stephanie, but as he madly rushes to keep her life in balance, she discovers that Bennie has been lying too: he’s been having an affair with Kathy.

The year is 2008 and Dolly live in an apartment with her daughter trying to desperately to regain her footing as a hotshot NYC PR maven. At present, however, her entire client list consists of just one dictator given to indulging his genocidal tendencies. Dolly arranges for a movie star nearly as washed up as she to be photographed with the General—as he is known—but the mouthy movie star goes too far, causing the General to kidnap her and send Dolly and her daughter back home. When Dolly publishes the picture of the General and the movie star, both experience a spike in popularity.

Written in the format of a celebrity puff piece in 1999, the former kidnap victim, Kitty Jackson tells all to reporter Jules Jones. Jules is brother to Stephanie and brother-in-law to Bennie.

Chapter 10:

Sasha has a new boyfriend in 1993: Drew. Growing increasingly jealous of Drew is Rob, the boy she entered into a phony romance with to fool the detective hired by her father to follow her and find out what he was doing. Rob relates this to Drew which is news to him and also admits he regrets not sleeping with Sasha when he had the chance. One night Rob and Drew go to a club, get high and then walk down by the river where Rob tell him that Sasha’ past is not nearly as clean-cut as he thinks. Drew accuses Rob of lying and dives into the frigid water of the East River. Rob goes after, but never comes back up.

Chapter 11:

The year is 1991 and it’s been two years since Sasha ran away from home. Her uncle Ted has traveled to Naples to track down her down. When he finds her, she’s got a limp, slash marks across her wrist and the ability to pick his wallet from his pocket without him even realizing it.

Chapter 12:

In the year 2025, Sasha and Drew’s 12-year-old daughter Allison has created a PowerPoint presentation that reveal that Drew is a doctor, that she has an autistic brother a year older and that the house is filled with tension whenever both mother and father are home which is not often because Drew prefer to stay at work for as long as possible.

Chapter 13:

About two years before Allison will create her PowerPoint, 60-ish Bennie Salazar is sitting in the living with a man named Alex who is struggling to remember the name of a girl from whom he first heard of Bennie; all he can recall is that on their one and only date there was some confusion about a stolen wallet or something. Later they go to a concert and after finally getting Scottie to take the stage, Alex watches the performance almost lost in a trance. When Alex finally recalls that the girl’s name was Sasha and he and Bennie walk to the apartment where they wound up after that date. Sasha doesn’t live there anymore.

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A Visit from the Goon Squad Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for A Visit from the Goon Squad is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad study guide contains a biography of Jennifer Egan, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About A Visit from the Goon Squad
• Character List

Essays for A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

• A Visit into the Minds of the Goon Squad
• “Pure Language” and the Dirtying of Technology in Egan's Novel
• Fish as Symbols for the Acceptance of Reality in 'A Visit from the Goon Squad'
• To Save Time in a Bottle: Confronting the Past and Distorting Reality with Scottie, Robert, and Bennie
• Egan, Sasha, and Questionable Adulthood: The Downfall of American Democracy as Told by Punk Rock

Character List

A visit from the goon squad, by jennifer egan.

‘A Visit from the Goon Squad’ features an array of characters from different times, but core to these characters are the troubled Sasha Blake and rock music exec Bennie Salazar.

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Sasha, a young and desperate woman in her mid-thirties, works as an assistant to Bennie, a former punk singer – who’s now aging and found success as a pragmatic, music executive. All the other characters introduced by Jennifer Egan seem to be tied around these two: whether as acquaintances from the past, present, or future. This article has analyzed all the characters from ‘ A Visit from the Goon Squad ’ by Jennifer Egan.

Sasha Grady Blake

Sasha is the pivotal character in Egan’s ‘ A Visit from the Goon Squad ’ narrative. The readers get up to speed with her character from the first chapter, first page and never stop hearing about her throughout the book. 

The first impression is that of a thief and drug addict – although she wants to improve her life as she’s seeing a shrink. Later impressions – revealed through Sasha’s uncle, Ted Hollander – shows that Sasha was as a child smart and intelligent.

Following a series of unbearable times with family, Sasha leaves home at age 17 and gets exposed to all kinds of lifestyles: drugs, hookup, stealing, befriending, and partying with her punk musicians – one of which she travels to Asia and then to Europe with. She, however, returns to New York after her uncle Ted’s persuasion and enrolls in college, where she meets Drew Blake, whom she would eventually marry and have two kids with many years later. 

Bennie Salazar 

He is a more advanced character who has found fame and fortune in the music industry as a music executive. Prior to his successful business career, Bennie himself used to be a rockstar as a teenager, but all those years of experience – coupled with family issues – have molded him into a disinterested, nonchalant man. 

Bennie marries Stephenie after missing out on Alice his first choice to a friend Scotty Hausman; however, Stephanie would later get a divorce after she catches Bennie cheating on her with Kitty Jackson. Although the couple has a son, Christopher, Bennie isn’t there enough for him as he’s too busy with being successful in his business. His failures over the years have reduced his self-esteem, enthusiasm, and libido; however, he later finds himself again towards the end of the book.

  Ted Hollander 

Ted Hollander is an uncle to Sasha through whom we know a great deal about Sasha’s past. Personally, Ted’s also a troubled character himself, having not had a big time in his job as an art scholar. When Sasha’s stepfather approaches him for a paid search trip for his daughter, Ted is happy and uses the opportunity to escape the issues from family, and also used the chance to enjoy some good views of some historical relics in Italy while hunting down Sasha. 

Scotty Hausman

He is a talented musician and guitarist and one of the closest friends of Bennie during their youthful days, although the pair split after Scotty wins over and marries Alice – a woman with whom Bennie also has feelings. 

From there, their destinies take a different direction, with Bennie firing on to become successful in the rock music industry, while Scotty has a bad marriage, divorces, and ends up as a depressed janitor. 

Scotty is still, however, interested and still making music on the side, and a chance reconnection with old friend Bennie presents him with a final twitch to try and revitalize his career, and he grabs it with both hands. 

Lou Kline 

He is a very successful record producer and Bennie’s mentor . Lou leads a reckless life of extravagance, drugs, and women with no regard for attaining real achievement or value in life.

He has several children from multiple women and is still interested in young teenage girls – with Jocelyn, one of whom he has a romantic relationship with. Even as he ages, he doesn’t stop to give his time and value to no one, not even his beloved son Rolph. In his last days, he is left ruing over his youthful decisions, lonely and unhealthy. 

Dolly Peale 

Lulu’s mother and New York-based celebrity public relations specialist can’t seem to find any work after her last pioneered event left many important attendees going home with severe burns following a technical glitch that set a fire. Dolly is much more concerned about affording Lulu’s needs and soon gets the chance when she is approached by another character, The General, to run PR on his waning public image. 

Drew Blake 

Drew meets Sasha in college, and the pair would later get married and have two children. He is one of the good guys, ambitious, and a long-time admirer of Sasha while both were in college and before they hit it off. As a father, he fails at connecting with his autistic son, Lincoln, but once he becomes genuinely interested in what Lincoln likes, he is able to bond with him.

The General 

He is a cruel, genocidal leader who is under threat of being assassinated by a CIA’s covert operation. He wants to re-brandish a good public name so the people can see him in a good light, and not the real person that he is. For this reason, he employs one of the best in the business in Dolly.

A social media manager, Alex is one of the key figures – alongside Lulu –  who works with Bennie in promoting Scotty’s music concert. He is a good, honest young man who is selfless and sincere. He shows this when, in the introductory chapter and on a date with Sasha, he helps to make sure that the lady whose purse gets all the assistance that she needs. Alex later has a bad married leading to divorce – in which he comes out in custody of his toddler. 

Another important social media marketing talent who teams up with Alex to popularize Scotty’s show. Lulu is the daughter of celebrity PR specialist, Dolly, and her presence is noticed when her mother erects an event to repair The General’s bad reputation, as she travels around with her for work and has her own impact with her sociability and people-skill qualities. 

Jules Jones 

Jules is Stephanie’s older brother who struggles with bipolar throughout the book. After graduating college as a promising young journalist from Michigan, he moves to New York to stay with his sister – spending time partying, and writing occasionally but doesn’t quite find his break, unlike his ex-roommates who hit the time. 

His lowest point is when he sexually assaulted Kitty Jackson when he’s interviewing her for a story – an offense for which he spends five years jail term. Jules, however, later has one shot at redeeming his age and saving his career, and he does so with a fine biographic piece on Bosco.

She’s with the crew of Bennie, Scotty, and Rhea but is likely the youngest at sixteen. Jocelyn goes out with the group to parties and concerts, where she meets Lou, with whom she is infatuated. She blindly indulges in all manner of decadence with Lou: hard drugs, casual sexual intimacy, and the like. 

Eventually, she realizes she’s wasting her life away without much tangible achievement. She later returns to her mother’s house and enrolls in college with the hope of making something out of whatever time is left of her life.

She is first introduced as Lou’s girlfriend, who goes on a trip to Africa with him (Lou) and his kids. Despite her promiscuous tendency, she is courageous and intelligent and doesn’t stop fighting what she thinks is best for herself (and later her children). In the future, she marries Lou and then divorces him after two kids. She takes up a job as a travel agent, raises her kids alone, and returns to college. 

Rhea is friends with Jocelyn and Alice; the trio is the girls in Bennie and Scotty’s punk clique from the onset. She is fanatically a punk rocker, and it shows in her appearance. She has a thing for Bennie – who is too in love with Alice to even notice. Rhea, along with Jocelyn and Alice, is considered Lou’s girl, although she still feels kind of left out because she doesn’t do everything with them. A much older version of herself settles down and has a family of five. 

A former guitarist living in past glory, Bosco, like all the other characters, feels the effect of time on his life. Having lived hard and wild in his youthful days, he is forced to accept his current undesirable life as an overweight alcoholic who is dying of cancer. 

Perceiving its ending for him, Bosco is determined to die in style, or ‘flame away,’ not ‘fade away.’ For this, he organizes a tour for his album, where he plans to push himself so hard and die on stage. None of this happens, as Bosco later recovers and goes into animal farming. 

Stephanie Salazar 

Jules’ kid sister and Bennie’s wife and eventually an ex-wife. Stephanie had led a crazy life herself, has tattoos on her body, and struggles with drug addiction. After attending college in New York, she marries and moves to the rich Crandale neighborhood with her husband Bennie. 

She has a terrible time in Crandale and struggles to fit in due to her past. Her marriage isn’t as great either as the issue of Bennie’s infidelity keeps coming up. She eventually divorces Bennie after they have a son, Christopher. 

Alison Blake 

Lincoln’s sister and daughter to Bennie and Sasha, Alison is described as smart and intelligent, but also headstrong and intransigent. She loves her brother, and has a special spot for her father, but appears to have a hard time bonding with her mother. Alison loves to catalog her life in PowerPoint and is mostly pessimistic about her worldview. 

Lincoln Blake 

Alison’s brother and son to Bennie and Sasha, Lincoln is smart but struggles with autism. This makes him socially awkward and unfit among family and peers. He craves a connection with his father, Drew, but doesn’t get that because he doesn’t understand him; however, at last, when the two work together on a project about pauses in punk rock, they eventually clicked for the first time (Because he loves and is fascinated with pauses).

Rolph is the depressed son of Lou, who struggles to connect on a personal level with his father and socially with others . His only true connection is with his sister, but that wasn’t enough to stop him from committing suicide in his late 20s. 

Rob Freeman 

Another character who is suicidal, Rob, is one of the first friends of Sasha in college – along with Drew. He is a troubled kid with mental health issues – all that is made even worse amid his struggles to find his true identity. He’s gay and has a thing for Drew – who has a thing for Sasha. At the peak of his mental health crisis, he drowns in the East River while swimming with Drew.

Kitty Jackson 

Jules Jones’ sexual assault victim, Kitty is a celebrity actress who is kind and compassionate but also stubborn and strong-willed. After the incident with Jules, which led to his imprisonment, Kitty pursues a strong advocacy for his acquittal – which gets her more popular. She later works with PR guru Dolly to fix The General’s image but gets kidnapped after she messed up her script. 

Who are the major characters in ‘ A Visit from the Goon Squad ’ by Jennifer Egan?

Bennie and Sasha are the two most important characters of the book , however, other major characters they follow include; Scotty, Rhea, Drew, Alex, Jocelyn, and Uncle Ted, among others.

Why is Sasha’s character so interesting in ‘ Goon Squad ’?

Aside from her story which resonates with nearly every young woman, Sasha is also the connecting dot for half of the other characters introduced throughout the book.

Does Sasha get the fulfillment that she desires? 

Sasha doesn’t get all she ever wanted but gets a happier, peaceful life after settling down with Drew and their two children, Alison and Lincoln. 

Why does Sasha’s friend Rob die in ‘ Goon Squad’ ?

Rob dies by drowning in the East River after he spills Sasha’s secret to Drew and goes in for a swim.

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About Victor Onuorah

Victor is as much a prolific writer as he is an avid reader. With a degree in Journalism, he goes around scouring literary storehouses and archives; picking up, dusting the dirt off, and leaving clean even the most crooked pieces of literature all with the skill of analysis.

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A Visit from the Goon Squad

Jennifer egan.

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Ted hollander quotes in a visit from the goon squad.

Ted braced himself for his moody, unpredictable son. "Hiya, Alf!" "Dad, don't use that voice." "What voice?" "That fake 'Dad' voice." "What do you want from me, Alfred? Can we have a conversation?" "We lost." "So you're what, five and eight?" "Four and nine." "Well. There's time." "There's no time," said Alfred. "Time is running out." "

On another day more than twenty years after this one, after Sasha had gone to college and settled in New York; after she'd reconnected on Facebook with her college boyfriend and married late (when Beth had nearly given up hope) and had two children, one of whom was slightly autistic…Ted, long divorced—a grandfather—would visit Sasha at home in the California desert…And for an instant he would remember Naples: sitting with Sasha in her tiny room; the jolt of surprise and delight he'd felt when the sun finally dropped into the center of her window and was captured inside her circle of wire. Now he turned to her, grinning. Her hair and face were aflame with orange light. "See," Sasha muttered, eyeing the sun. "It's mine."

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