A friend recommended Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad as a character study.
The style of this book reminded me of Winesburg, Ohio – it’s a collection of short stories that all sort of interconnect.
What ties everything together and makes it work is an undercurrent of the impulse of self-destruction. Every character, like Oedipus, is the sort of architect of their own demise.
It’s remarkable how quickly Egan can get deep and intimate with a new character POV.