That was disappointing. I adored A Visit from the Goon Squad; it was one of my favourite books of last year, so you can imagine how beyond excited I was to read this book - I took my sweet time starting it to be able to read it at the just the right moment, I was so sure I would love this. But I didn't. I enjoyed the first chapter and was ok with the ones following - until around page 150 - when I realized that I have no idea what the point is, what the book is about, what I am supposed to feel....

!! NOW AVAILABLE !!What I was drawn to: The story centers on Anna Kerrigan, and her Irish family, beginning in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, an era and location that should come alive, so much rich history to drawn from. So, what did and didn’t work for me? I was drawn into this story for very brief periods of time. When Anna was caring for her sister, whose disabilities require constant care and supervision, her devotion to her sister - admirable, and her delight when Lydia showed any

1 1/2 stars. Um, definitely not what I was expecting from Egan at all... is this really the same author who wrote A Visit from the Goon Squad?Manhattan Beach feels like several stories in one, all struggling to come together, all lacking cohesion, none of them emotionally engaging. This is a messy book, full of plot points that seem unnecessary and deliberately convoluted. Is it a novel about a young woman navigating a male-dominated world and work force for the first time? Is it a gangster/mob

I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. I really enjoyed the writing and there were multiple points through out when I was very into the plot and what was happening. I think the first half of the book was a lot stronger and that I kind of became put off because of the affair Anna ends up having with Dexter. It felt like a stretch that Dexter was killed because his brother in law told his father in law who told Mr. Q who then let him be killed, which is the explanation we're left with. Thos...

2.5 starsManhattan Beach takes place in NY during the Great Depression and into World War II. We meet twelve-year old Anna Kerrigan and her father, Eddie. Eddie's other daughter, Lydia is severely crippled and the family has no money for the wheelchair that she needs. Manhattan Beach is home to a rich gangster, Dexter Styles and Eddie brings Anna to his home, seeking a job that he desperately needs to care for Lydia and his family. Exactly what is Eddie and Dexter's relationship?The story moves

It is not as though I had high expectations going into this.  Having never read a Jennifer Egan novel before I was bereft of preconceived notions.But based on the blurb and certainly on the first few chapters I was eager to continue reading what promised to be an interesting well written story.Set in depression era Brooklyn, Anna Kerrigan is only 12 years old as the story opens.  She is accompanying her father Eddie on one of his many errands.  This one takes them to Manhattan Beach and a far mo...

Mind-numbingly boring. With few exceptions, the writing was bland. Except for the opening chapter or two, the characters were dull, dull, dull. I didn’t end up caring about anything or anyone by the 48% mark, and from what I gathered from the plot synopsis, I was still waiting for the goddamned story to begin! What a waste of time.

I read the blurb for this novel and it sounded right up my alley, so I decided to give Jennifer Egan another go although I didn’t care to finish A Visit from the Goon Squad - her Pulitzer winning novel.As you can tell from my rating, I didn’t love Manhattan Beach either. A masterpiece, it is not. I wish publishers stopped writing that in blurbs, how about letting the readers and the critics come to that conclusion?Honestly, reading it felt like work. The writing was very accessible. So what didn...

I made it about half way through this one. Just, not interested. Apologies!

I can't say I loved A Visit From the Goon Squad as much as the Pulitzer Prize committee or the National Book Critics Circle, or the many five star reviewers on Goodreads, but I liked it well enough to want to give this one a try and I'm so glad I did. It's a very different kind of book than Goon Squad. It's a work of historical fiction beginning around the Great Depression and continuing through the war years. It appears to be well researched and in my view definitely well written. It seems at f...

This novel is set in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. Anna Kerrigan is nearly 12 years old. She accompanies her father to the house of a man whom she learns is crucial to the survival if her family. Years later, her father disappears and the country is at war. Anna becomes the first female diver, a dangerous and exclusive occupation repairing ships that will help America win the war. Anna is the sole provider for her mother and her severely disabled sister.For me, the book started off reall...

2.5 stars, rounded up“Hope became the memory of hope: a numb, dead patch.” This books starts in the midst of the Depression and continues during WWII. Anna is initially a twelve year old and a true daddy’s girl. Then she's working at the Naval Yard during the war and her father has disappeared five years earlier. The writing here is as good as you'd expect from Jennifer Egan. And she's done her research and the parts of the book describing the Naval Yard and the merchant ships ring true. But for...

This is a hauntingly ambitious historical novel of the sea and New York, set during the Depression era and the Second World War. It is impeccably researched in its period details and well plotted. Anna Kerrigan is 11 years old, with her beloved father, Eddie, as they make their way to Manhatton Beach, and the opulent home of nightclub owner Dexter Styles, a man with ties to the mob. The family are barely getting by, Eddie is a bagman for the union and he wants a job with Dexter. He needs money f...

There are great books about New York and great books about the sea. There are great books about fiercely independent women and great books about gangsters. There are great books about war. There are great books about fathers and daughters, and great books about falling in love. “Manhattan Beach” is a great book about all of these things. I loved every single word.

Do yourself a favor and do not believe the paid reviewers who are giving this good or even somewhat decent reviews. I don't usually curse in my reviews, but the truth is that this is half-assed crap bordering on total shit. The characters are flat, the plot flounders and everything is presented via repeat descriptions of Veronica Lake hairdos and laughably bad James Cagney film dialogue. When characters are no longer needed, they die, move far away or just mysteriously disappear. I also hated th...

Expectations. They'll get you every time.I haven't read the award winning and controversial book by this author, A Visit from the Goon Squad. But I understood, from many reviews, some found it dull, some found it pointless, others found it ultra modern and stylistic, but none really questioned the actual writing (thank the good lord, since it won the Pulitzer).So, I was thrilled to receive the ARC of this book, eager to dive into the writing of a new-to-me author who had risen to the top of the

"What can't she do?" is right. Turns out Jennifer Egan can do anything she damn well pleases, including take 7 years to write a World War II novel that manages to shuck all the expected conventions of writing about those years. There is some amount of mystery here but it isn't a mystery novel, just like there's plenty of history but it isn't a historical novel. Egan's writing has all the pleasure of a comfy blanket on a crisp autumn morning - so what luck that this fall brings a joy like this no...

An poignant and compelling novel which is deep in strength and courage and rich in historical detail. SUMMARYA spirited eleven year-old, Anna Kerrigan accompanies her beloved father, Eddie to the grand Brooklyn beach home of handsome underworld figure, Dexter Styles. It’s a cold winter day in 1934 and Dexter is charmed by the indomitable Anna who delightedly removes her shoes on the beach and puts her tiny toes into the frigid surf. With his family desperately in need of money, Eddie soon begins...

Jennifer Egan has wisely chosen not to compete with “Goon Squad” and its postmodern razzle-dazzle. Instead, her new book leaps into the past, offering us a story built on sturdy older forms polished to a high sheen.“Manhattan Beach” — longlisted for a National Book Award even before it was released — is a historical novel set during World War II in New York. The country isn’t entirely in agreement about entering another foreign war, but cue the big band, cheer the troops. This is a nation finall...

This book tells the story of Anna Kerrigan, born into an Irish family in Brooklyn shortly before the Great Depression. It’s the story of her family too – sister Lydia, mother Agnes and father Eddie – but these other family members flit in and out of the narrative whilst Anna is always present, even when the focus isn't directly upon her. When Eddie is forced to find a new way of feeding his family – the Depression having seen off his career as a stockbroker – he finds himself becoming a ‘bag man...