The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

Written in a style equally brilliant and confusing THE CANDY HOUSE picks up with some of the characters found in A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD. I did not read the first novel so that may account for some of my confusion. Simply put, this is a free flowing multi-character story with multiple timelines written in various narrative styles. The invention of "Own Your Own Unconscious" allows people to buy a cube that captures all of their memories from their unconscious that can be accessed at any time. The good is that you can now settle family squabbles about who won the family football pool at a Thanksgiving 15 years ago. The bad is that when you give free access to your unconscious that data is collected and you become a guinea pig for others to track. Depending on your perspective this can be a very useful tool or the end of all creative thought. Some of the chapters are presented in unusual ways - free flowing thought and text messages as well as one character who must be on the spectrum and every thought feels like a mathematical equation. One thing becomes clear - taking a bite from a candy house never comes without a price and you may end up as a witch's dinner.  3 stars