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<p>Through an analysis of Jennifer Egan’s <i>A Visit from the Goon Squad</i> (2010), Twitter fiction “Black Box” (2012), and <i>The Candy House</i> (2022), I examine how they engage with the rise of new media by adopting such digital tools as PowerPoint software and a Twitter platform. In the process, Egan develops a distinct style that I refer to as “polytechnic,” which is defined by the non-ironic openness to digitization and readiness to learn multiple technical skills. The aim is to allow literary narratives to be optimized by digital tools and to affirm the relevance of fiction in the age of new media and digital capitalism. There is a limitation to this style, however; because of its underlying assumption that technology is a solution, both for the characters’ predicaments and for the new challenges faced by fiction in the literary marketplace, it is unable to bring under investigation such ensuing problems as the softwarization of culture, the extractive processes of digital capitalism, and technological optimism.</p>

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Jennifer Egan’s polytechnic style

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月28日

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  • Sunyoung Ahn

摘要

Through an analysis of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010), Twitter fiction “Black Box” (2012), and The Candy House (2022), I examine how they engage with the rise of new media by adopting such digital tools as PowerPoint software and a Twitter platform. In the process, Egan develops a distinct style that I refer to as “polytechnic,” which is defined by the non-ironic openness to digitization and readiness to learn multiple technical skills. The aim is to allow literary narratives to be optimized by digital tools and to affirm the relevance of fiction in the age of new media and digital capitalism. There is a limitation to this style, however; because of its underlying assumption that technology is a solution, both for the characters’ predicaments and for the new challenges faced by fiction in the literary marketplace, it is unable to bring under investigation such ensuing problems as the softwarization of culture, the extractive processes of digital capitalism, and technological optimism.