Book Review: The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

Title: The Candy House
Author: Jennifer Egan
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781476716770

Synopsis:
The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is “one of those tech demi-gods with whom we’re all on a first name basis.” Bix is forty, with four kids, restless, and desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or “externalizing” memory. Within a decade, Bix’s new technology, “Own Your Unconscious”—which allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had, and to share your memories in exchange for access to the memories of others—has seduced multitudes.

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This is the first book I’ve purchased for myself in a few months (not provided by the publisher), and am I ever pleased to have something so up my alley. I just couldn’t get enough of Egan’s The Candy House. This book is so intense, so through provoking, and so impeccably written. Exploring ideas of memory, autonomy, personhood, and loss, this person vs. technology narrative reviews how advancements in tech change the way we perceive ourselves, our world, and our memories.

While each chapter is written by a different character, and even a different format, Egan expertly ties each chapter to the next in a detailed and complex way. Each of the characters are tied to one another, and though the perspectives change, the story easily flows onward, building a complete and intriguing picture of the world they inhabit. From authors to tech giants, mothers to citizen spies, this story pulls in the perspectives of ordinary people and those characters who are changing the world, all intertwined in a single narrative. It’ll connect with you emotionally and intellectually as you explore this universe that’s not so far removed from our own. It’s easy to see, particularly with the introduction of AI, how close we are to moving into a similar realm.

I was absolutely hooked by this book. It’s engaging, it’s thoughtful, and it has you constantly intrigued to find out who the next narrator is going to be. It’s got great continuity, despite changing speakers. And it’s also metafictive in that it self-references throughout in a way that’s aware of it’s own commentary. I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did.

Happy reading!