“Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan

I was introduced to Egan through her earlier novel A Visit From the Goon Squad so when I heard that she had written another novel I was excited to snatch it up. It’s not as wacky or inventive as Goon Squad but the characters are just as vibrant and the twists and turns are still present.

The three main characters are Anna, her father Eddie, and the gangster Dexter Styles. The stories of the three of them go off in wildly different directions, but nevertheless they are all linked together from the first page. Anna grows up to become a diver in New York City, whose father mysteriously disappeared while she was growing up. She runs into Styles and tries to get through him to the truth of her father’s disappearance.

Despite this quest for knowledge, the book doesn’t read like a mystery. It focuses instead on Anna’s world, and what she is living through as a single woman during WWII in NYC. Her mother and crippled sister make appearances, as well as her various friends within the city. All of the characters are portrayed stunningly well, each with distinct personalities and histories.

What I found most interesting was how the sea links all of the characters together. Anna dives in it, it frees her from the weight she bears on land. Eddie is a sailor who lives and has seen men die on it. Styles lives next to the Manhattan Beach in the title, and takes Anna and her sister Lydia to see the sea once. The water in this novel pulses with life and death, but also communication and knowledge as the three of them seek out each other across the waves.

To be honest, I think I preferred Goon Squad with is unusual narration, but I’m into strange books. This story is similar to taking the format of a tale like Goon Squad but telling it in a traditional format. The result is very enjoyable to get through, but it also leaves me feeling as though there’s something missing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the book, but I also feel like Egan could have done something more with it. I don’t know, read the book and see for yourself.