A Visit from the Goon Squad

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part A, Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. What is Sasha’s secret?

2. What reminds Sasha of her friend Lizzie?

3. What does Sasha take from Alex?

4. What is the name of the band Bennie signed to Sow’s Ear Records?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What about Sasha’s conversation with her therapist suggests that she wants to move on?

2. Why might Bennie be happy that he let his son taste the gold flakes?

3. When does Chapter 2, “The Gold Cure,” take place in relation to Chapter 1, “Found Objects”? How do you know?

Paired Resource

“The Egg” by Andy Weir

• A short story that promotes thinking about life from multiple perspectives
• How does reading this story help you think about what it means to jump between stories and moments in characters’ lives? How does this help you think about Time and Meaning?

Part A, Chapters 3-4

Reading Check

1. Where does Bennie arrange for his friends’ band to play?

2. What is Lou doing with his children in Kenya?

3. How does Mindy view her role in the group in Kenya?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happens when Jocelyn convinces Lou to come and see the Flaming Dildos?

2. What is implied by the way Rhea thinks, once Lou puts his arms around her and Jocelyn, “we’re Lou’s girls”?

3. Why might Egan tell readers what happens to Lou’s children later in life at the end of the chapter detailing their trip to Africa?

Part A, Chapters 5-6

Reading Check

1. Why do Bennie and his friends visit Lou in the hospital?

2. What does Scotty bring with him to meet with Bennie?

3. Whom has Scotty married?

4. Where does Scotty learn that Bennie is working for a record label?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Jocelyn and Rhea’s visit to Lou in the hospital mirror when they first met him?

2. What does Rhea think is the reason that Jocelyn asked Lou about Rolph?

3. Why does Scotty give away Bennie’s card?

Paired Resource

“Celebrating the Possibilities of Fiction: A Conversation with Jennifer Egan”

• A PopMatters interview between Jennifer Egan and Robert Alford that, without spoiling the book, discusses some of its themes, form choices, and satire
• Halfway through the book, how does this article help you understand it better?

Part B, Chapters 7-9

Reading Check

1. What is the name of Bennie’s wife?

2. What is Jules’s profession?

3. What reveals that Bennie has had an affair?

4. By what name did Dolly used to go?

5. What literary form does “Forty-Minute Lunch” take?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the effect of Bennie’s wife finding a group of friends through the local country club?

2. Why does Bosco want to go on tour even though he is dying of cancer?

3. Why does Dolly bring her daughter with her on the trip?

4. Why is Jules disappointed that Kitty is a “nice star”?

Paired Resource

“Oh, You Think You’re a Real Star Wars Fan? Name Three of Its Stars You’ve Bullied Off Social Media”

• A McSweeney’s post by Callum Wratten that uses satire to point out how technology has been weaponized against people (particularly people of color) in film
• What does it mean to use satire? How does Dolly’s character provide a satirical view of fame and celebrity?

Part B, Chapters 10-11

Reading Check

1.  Who is Rob?

2. What do we learn about Sasha and Bennie’s timeline in Chapter 10?

3. What happens to Ted’s wallet?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Rob afraid might happen?

2. What is implied by Rob’s fantasy about Drew?

3. What is Ted doing in Naples?

4. What does Ted realize about Sasha at the club in Naples?

Part B, Chapters 12-13

Reading Check

1. Where do Sasha and her family live?

2. What is Sasha’s new hobby?

3. What is the new term for “toddler”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Lincoln fascinated by the pauses in songs?

2. How does Alison help her father connect with Lincoln?

3. Why is Alison curious about her mother’s old life?

4. How does Lulu view ethics?

Paired Resource

“Great Rock and Roll Pauses”

• Alison’s slide show in slide-show format, at Jennifer Egan’s website
• How is it different to view Alison’s slide show in this format? Does this change your understanding of the chapter?

Recommended Next Reads

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

• A 2022 novel existing in a similar universe (and with some of the same characters) as A Visit from the Goon Squad
• Shared topics include technology and family relationships.
• Shared themes include Identity and Meaning.

The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra

• A collection of short stories that similarly interlock characters’ lives and descendants
• Shared topics include family relationships.
• Shared themes include Time and Identity.
• The Tsar of Love and Techno on SuperSummary