A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
Jennifer Egan

Chapter 2: The Gold Cure

Bennie is Sasha’s old boss. She talked about him in the previous chapter. He sprinkles gold dust in his coffee and sprays pesticide under his armpits.
Bennie seems alienated from the world. He is 44 years old and divorced. His mentor, Lou had died three months previously. He seems to harbour irrational feelings of guilt, he blames himself for his son having head lice, which is why he sprays himself under the armpits with pesticide. He writes down these guilts he feels, in an effort to rid himself of them.
Although wealthy and successful, he did not feel accepted in the rich suburbs. ‘…it was clearer than ever that he hadn’t a chance of lasting in this place, swarthy, and unkempt-looking as he was even when freshly showered and shaved. Stephanie, mean while, had ascended to the club’s number-one doubles team.’
He has lost his sex drive, and his son is distanced from him. His life has been the music industry, but now ‘Bennie knew what he was bringing into the world was shit’.
During an impromptu music rehearsal, his sex drive suddenly reappears. ‘He’d been delegating too much. Hearing the music made, that was the thing.
He has lost his self belief, and accepts Sasha’s opinion that the group were ‘awful’. He is losing track of the passing years ‘You’re Bennie Salazar!’ says Sasha ‘five years is five hundred years’ –your words.’
He misplaces things more and more – and Sasha finds them. I was wondering. If he misplaced them – why does Sasha not add them to her horde of stolen objects? Or does she take them, change her mind, and ‘finds’ them for him.

"I was wondering. If he misplaced them – why does Sasha not add them to her horde of stolen objects? Or does she take them, change her mind, and ‘finds’ them for him."
I'm not sure either, but she did say she took them for the thrill...finding something may not supply the same kick as lifting it does.

Yes she prefers stealing from people not stores ‘their cold, inert goods didn’t tempt her. Only from people.’ But stealing the purse forces her to admit that what she is doing, is in fact theft, and not simply ‘finding things’. The thefts seem to have started about a year previously when her friendship with Lizzie broke up She had stolen some of Lizzie’s bath salts ‘They’d been deep in the middle of the pile, which had collapsed a little from the extraction.’
She talks continually to her date about her ex employer, and even arranges the date to be near her ex place of work – even though she hated the area. She admits to ‘lifting’ a pen which cost two hundred and sixty dollars from her former boss’s lawyer. She seems to be a master of self delusion. Convincing herself that Alex would have forgotten all about the note, and saying it must belong to her.. ‘And maybe that’s true. Maybe someone gave it to me years ago, and I forgot’.

Here are two of the songs from the gig
Iggy Pop's 'I am a Passenger'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4hPnZUMBwA
and Blondie's Heart of Glass'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU
Who sang 'Don't let me down'?

The Beatles.

Now the narrative is bothering me a bit. I'm usually good at following this type of thing but if the author doesn't tie these characters together soon I'm afraid that I'll lose track of them.

Hang in there lindad.....it ties together nicely soon. The connection is time.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm now reading Safari. The diagram in the thread on Narrative is actually helpful.

The Beatles! How could I have forgotten that! Yes it does tie together. But she still manages at the beginning of some chapters to totally disorientate you.