A review by thevioletfoxbookshop
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 "The Candy House" by Jennifer Egan is an absolute mind-bender, blending speculative, experimental, and science fiction together seamlessly in a novel that feels both contemporary and nostalgic.

Imagine a future where you're able to upload the contents of your unconscious into cubes. Your every thought, feeling, and memory instantly accessible through technology. Now imagine that you can share your unconscious to a social network in exchange for access to everyone else's on that network. Sound exhilarating? Terrifying? This is the world that Jennifer Egan has created in "The Candy House." Through a myriad of characters, she shows us how this technology came to be, how it changes the world - for better and for worse, and the unexpected ways in which we're all interconnected.

Fans of "A Visit From The Goon Squad" will recognize many familiar characters in this sibling novel. However, I want to be very clear - you do not need to have read "A Visit From The Goon Squad" to read "The Candy House." I knew nothing about "A Visit From The Goon Squad" prior to starting "The Candy House" and never once felt lost or like I was missing something. I do, however, want to go read "A Visit From The Goon Squad" now simply because "The Candy House" was so good!

Telling you what "The Candy House" is about is like trying to tell you what the human experience is about. It's something you know, but can't quite put into words. Yes, "The Candy House" is about a technology that allows people to upload their unconscious, but it's about so much more than that.
It's about nostalgia in the age of social media and technology.
It's about authenticity and how we try to replicate that but continually fall short. Can the feeling of dawn be replicated without the real thing? What about a memory? Or are those just echoes of the actual thing?
It's about how things are messy in the moment, but become clear with time and distance.
It's about the endeavor to quantify and capture what it means to be human. Can that be done? What is the value in it? What are the ethical implications? 
And once we've built this "candy house" of being able to quantify, capture, record, and share anything within ourselves and our world...what is the cost?

These are the questions that Egan asks in "The Candy House." 
The attempts to answer are just as roiling and complex as the questions. Yet, Egan offers a jarringly clear perspective of our modern world. 

I particularly loved how Egan plays with unconventional narrative. For example, we get an entire chapter in the form of emails. Egan's creative writing enhances each character beyond what we see them do and hear them say in the story. Their voices are so distinct, which is a tribute to what a phenomenal writer Jennifer Egan really is! Plus, it was just plain fun to read!

There are some incredibly big ideas and questions in "The Candy House," but more than that, the relationships between the characters and the character development left a real imprint on me. The world is vast and the future is undetermined. Yet somehow, it's a small world and our paths are all intertwined.
"The Candy House" will stay with me for a very long time.

If you're looking for a thought-provoking novel with rich characters, look no further. 
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