We meet the inventor of this technology, his family members, those who learn about their parents through this technology, those who profit off it, those who fear it, etc. It’s a new kind of technology wherein people are able to download their own thoughts and memories into a little cube, and if they choose, upload it to the collective unconscious so others who have contributed can download their thoughts – essentially everyone sharing their memories together. We go back and forth through time, from the 1960s all the way to the 2030s, during which something called the “Own Your Unconscious” has been invented and commercialized. Sometimes the person at the center of the chapter is a cursory character mentioned offhand in the chapter previous and it isn’t until the very end of the book that we begin to see consistent reappearances or connections from earlier. Trying to summarize a plot like this will inevitably lead to confusion because every single section and chapter is about an entirely new person, some with somewhat vague ties to the characters who came before. Just like the cover of this book, there is a lot going on in-between the pages, and I think it would take me a solid re-read over the course of one day to fully appreciate what’s been written here. It is all too good to be true, which for those of us with any sort of social media literacy at all can see – the downfalls of our connectedness are starting to overwhelm the benefits. The candy house in the title is referring to a few different things, mainly the promise of a cache of riches – the literal candy house in the tale Hansel and Gretel, or for many of us today, the unending possibilities of the internet, and the collective conscience in this book.

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan is a warning wrapped in multiple layers of story. Right off the bat, just want to warn you all this book is NOT about candy, or treats of any kind (disappointing, I know).

The candy house jennifer egan review