The Twelfth Chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: From the PowerPoint to the Hermeneutical Process
Schmitt, Arnaud
The Twelfth Chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: From the PowerPoint to the Hermeneutical Process - 2015.
85
Embedded in an open-ended and elliptical diegesis, the twelfth chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad appears as an aesthetic oddity, even for a very recent novel : it is a series of PowerPoint slides. But in spite of its peculiar—even incongruous for some—visual aspect, this chapter entitled « Great Rock and Roll Pauses by Alison Blake » is simply supposed to be the diary of the daughter of one of the novel’s recurring characters. Indeed, resorting to this presentation software program does not prevent the author from giving an emotional dimension to this chapter ; what’s more, it can be seen in the final analysis as a meta-chapter : the hermeneutical work necessary for readers to make sense of the signs and the gaps constituting Alison’s diary is the same as the one required to comprehend the fragmented narrative that Jennifer Egan’s novel in its entirety unfolds.
The Twelfth Chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: From the PowerPoint to the Hermeneutical Process - 2015.
85
Embedded in an open-ended and elliptical diegesis, the twelfth chapter of A Visit from the Goon Squad appears as an aesthetic oddity, even for a very recent novel : it is a series of PowerPoint slides. But in spite of its peculiar—even incongruous for some—visual aspect, this chapter entitled « Great Rock and Roll Pauses by Alison Blake » is simply supposed to be the diary of the daughter of one of the novel’s recurring characters. Indeed, resorting to this presentation software program does not prevent the author from giving an emotional dimension to this chapter ; what’s more, it can be seen in the final analysis as a meta-chapter : the hermeneutical work necessary for readers to make sense of the signs and the gaps constituting Alison’s diary is the same as the one required to comprehend the fragmented narrative that Jennifer Egan’s novel in its entirety unfolds.
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