Waiting to jump

Leap of faith

10 meter platform 

Is the story more about a premeditated revolt of her life as she has come to know it vis a vis defoliation? 

These are all ideas that have come to me after finished A Visit from the Goon Squad.  I immediately found an interview with the author that provided some insight to the methods and process by she wrote the story.  The novels structure, simplicity, narration, musical metaphor and overall theme left an indelible mark on me.  

The structure is essentially a series of memories, most of which seem half-lost given the choice of words and simple sentence structure.  Nevertheless, they are well written and salient.  

The last chapter (or chapter containing the charts and slides) emphasizes the attempt to content with ones mid-life crisis

 described through an analysis of song pauses.  The song is an excellent metaphor for life, both the pain and the celebrations of the time that passes before our eyes.  Emotional trauma is also at the forefront of the novel, whether its due to an obsessive compulsive disorder (stealing wallets), fighting ones own sexual orientation or dealing with an autistic child, the memory is left to suffer in parallel with the individual.  The charts, slides and info graphics demonstrate the mind of a teenager who isn't interested in words, perhaps because she's more visual or perhaps technology has superseded them.  The narration and voice is fatalistic as is typical of someone who is trying to recall a particular event, or retell their version of it.