His story took hold in much of the second half of the book. Though the story focused on Anna, I did find her father’s character Eddie more interesting.

The three main characters were Anna, her dad Eddie and Dexter Styles, Eddie’s boss. I did think that the characters had potential but they were not developed enough. In addition, Manhattan Beach was not compelling so I was turning the pages slowly.

What I got were characters who could have been more developed and a story line that went off on a tangent that you forgot what the point of the story was. Moreover, I was expecting a character driven story line but this was not what I got. The disjointedness made it confusing and didn’t help the plot. The narrative takes some jumps which made the story move forward but a lot is lost in the process. The story line on how she found her answer was convoluted and unbelievable. The story line’s premise seemed straight forward enough, Anna’s father Eddie disappears and she is left wondering where he is. However, Egan’s style of writing was mediocre and I found the book to be slow, even with the good amount of dialogue on the pages. I did enjoy that it was written in the third person and we got Anna’s, Eddie’s and Dexter’s viewpoints. I could imagine the era with the descriptions. I thought that she created the atmosphere well. One thing Egan did well was the details on the 1930s and 1940s.

While this book was an okay read, it did not live up to all the hype it was given. I had high hopes but I wasn’t pulled into the book and was left unsatisfied. Manhattan Beach, however was a disappoint for me. So I had expected Manhattan Beach, to be excellent. Manhattan Beach, Egan’s latest novel, was named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Guardian, Esquire, The Washington Post, Time, USA TODAY, and Vogue. Jennifer Egan won the prize for fiction in 2011 with A Visit From The Goon Squad. I always look forward to reading a book written by Pulitzer prize winner. Find Jennifer Egan: Website | Facebook | Twitter Review:

Manhattan beach book summary