I haven't read [a:Jennifer Egan|49625|Jennifer Egan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1231143470p2/49625.jpg]'s [b:A Visit from the Goon Squad|7331435|A Visit from the Goon Squad|Jennifer Egan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356844046l/7331435.SX50.jpg|8975330], which [b:The Candy House|58437521|The Candy House|Jennifer Egan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642351487l/58437521.SY75.jpg|86707532] is said to be a sort of companion to. If I had, I might have had a better idea of what's going on, though I've read that's not true. More likely, I'd have gotten more out of The Candy House if I were thirty years younger.
 It's a fascinating book and I'm glad I read it, but there were long passages that, while interesting on their own, I couldn't see how they were connected. This is especially true of a chapter of messages among several people concerning the possible making of a documentary about an actor's love of speed boats.
 Egan strikes me as someone who's smart and creative as hell. I picture her going through her day always with access to a notebook or, given the times, her phone, and noting ideas and perceptions she has as her day progresses. She probably has ten great ideas a day and the best one or two of them make it into her prose. The result is fascinating reading she well deserves her Pulitzer Prize for.
 The Candy House is like an ensemble TV series, with many characters in the center at different times, few of them chronological. As much as I liked that, I sort of miss novels with one or two strong central characters. I also think Egan got so wound up in the multiple stories she was telling that she didn't go into race and gender issues as much as the book's beginning made me think she would.