THE CANDY HOUSE: The Repercussions of "Own Your Unconscious"

“The Candy House” by Jennifer Egan was one heck of a confusing book. Egan attempts to weave loosely connected narratives through time, spanning from the 1960s to the 2030s. During this time an innovative technology, “Own Your Unconscious,” emerges. “Own Your Unconscious” gives its users the ability to grant access to their past memories as well as exchange one’s own memories for those of others.

Egan introduces us to the creator of this technology, Bix Bouton, and uses each chapter to introduce new repercussions of his technology. Each chapter could be read as its own separate book, with sometimes only subtle links to the preceding ones.

This book was so imaginative. I hate to admit this, but I really could not grasp it. Egan is constantly jumping to new points of views, using a non-linear timeline, and introducing new characters every chapter who will disappear by the end of it.

Apparently “The Candy House” is a sequel to Egan’s 2010 novel, “A Visit from the Good Squad,” which I only found out after finishing the book and desperately searching for reviews to see if I was the only one who was so confused. Most readers said it was unnecessary to read the first, and I, only having read this one, did not feel like it was a continuation of any book.

Egan's writing shows how creative and innovative she is, but I found it too challenging to follow the story. “The Candy House” should be viewed as a book of short stories exploring the ideas of technology, individuality, and consciousness. However, after suffering through this one, I will not be picking up any of Egan’s other books soon.

You can read more about Jennifer Egan on her website here.