Reeling from a terrifying assault that has left him physically injured and psychologically shattered, nineteen-year-old Brad Land must also contend...
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reviews
Mar 07, 2008
Abel
rated it: 
After a promising start, this memoir drearily deteriorates into the author's vain, fruitless, and ultimately frustrating search for profundity in a thoroughly mediocre life. If your daily dose of Good Charlotte and telling your parents you hate them isn't making you feel "emo" enough, this book might do the trick.
Aug 13, 2007
Clare
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Well. What a lot of bad things happened to this guy. This is Brad Land's story of surviving a brutal carjacking and how it affected his life and in particular his relationship with his brother. The desire to stay close to said brother led Land to pledge a fraternity that, I don't know, maybe is typical but Jesus I hope not. I hope this particular fraternity is totally unique. It is made up entirely of sociaopaths. Are people seriously doing this stuff? To get into a fraternity? And if so,
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Jul 24, 2011
Thomas
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Maybe my reviewing is skewed a bit high for this let-down of a novel - because I was in a fraternity and I know my writing ability is not worthy of published material. And I say let-down because it starts off as compelling. I hate to say this because it is based on a true story and I wish abduction was nonexistent. The psychological repercussions are endless for all victims and friends/family of victims. The recollection told is perfectly vivid and absent of descriptive detail to be relentle
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Nov 10, 2010
Men D.
rated it:
A friend's friend was president of his frat in college. He freaks out every time you say "frat." He is a long-necked geek who laughs like Professor Frink on the Simpsons. He says, "You can't abbreviate that way. Would you call your 'country' a . . . ?"
This book was the first thing that came up when I Googled "frat memoir," so I bought it for a penny on Amazon. Well worth the money. Land has a strong, unique voice that expresses dread well. And what dread More...
This book was the first thing that came up when I Googled "frat memoir," so I bought it for a penny on Amazon. Well worth the money. Land has a strong, unique voice that expresses dread well. And what dread More...
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Sep 18, 2009
Jill
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I surprised myself by liking this book. The writing is mostly stream-of-consciousness, with no quotation marks for dialogue, and unclear edges of events. But instead of coming across as self-conscious, it felt more realistic, as though I was actually inside this guy's head. Sometimes life is more like a half-remembered dream than a clear sequence of events, and Land catches this eloquently.
I also liked the fact that Land is telling a story that is not often told - about a man who More...
I also liked the fact that Land is telling a story that is not often told - about a man who More...
Mar 23, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
The author writes about a traumatic event (kidnapping, robbery, and violent assault) that scars him emotionally and distances himself from his brother, and his attempt to gain a stronger relationship with his brother by joining his fraternity. This further traumatizes him due to the intense and violent hazing he experiences. I think its a very honest and insightful look at false masculinity. Even before the violent trauma, he talks about being too scared to have sex or smoke weed but lying to fi
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Jul 11, 2008
Karyn
rated it:
In college, Land joined a fraternity, and they hazed him. The hazing traumatized him, and he wants us to feel bad about that. He writes nice sentences, but there's nothing compelling about this story.
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Apr 19, 2009
Karen
rated it:
kinda funny how stereotypical college boys can be. I've noticed a lot of mixed reviews on this book. yeah the structure sucks it was a hit or miss with that. but the story is a pretty decent read. its short enough that it's not drawn out and its direct. its nice to get into someones world briefly and see things how they do and that is something the author did wonderfully. weather you are annoyed by his self loathing or feel pity you can still get attached for him. and by the end of the book you
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Aug 27, 2009
My son is actually going to Clemson University as I write this-which made this book both a learning and TERRIFYING experience for me. We all want our children to have a great time in college-as well as get a decent education,this story not only tells the story of a disfunctional family life-even after a terrible accident befalls the child-but also shows the struggle of wanting to so desperately belong. It shows the dangers of college life as well as the good things we all hope for in life. A def
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May 23, 2009
Wes
rated it:
This is a memoir about, essentially, humans treating other humans badly. Specifically, Land's experience before starting college - where he was beaten severely by two men he gave a ride to - and when he pledges a fraternity and is subjected to vile hazing rituals. The memoir explores the emotions he went through in trying to cope with this experience and ends with the death of his fellow pledge mate from these rituals. Its a difficult subject matter and no answers are really given, though Land t
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Oct 04, 2009
Brenda
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Picked this book at a garage sale yesterday morning and finished reading it this morning. I think I noticed the word "memoir" when I picked it up, but didn't remember it was a true story as I was reading it. I can see that it's not a perfect read, but it was gripping enough to keep me reading and to inspire me to spend my Sunday morning finishing it.
I feel like this glimpse into the masculine world is rare. He talks a bit like Holden Caulfield, but with a focus on the viole More...
I feel like this glimpse into the masculine world is rare. He talks a bit like Holden Caulfield, but with a focus on the viole More...
Jan 31, 2009
Erin
rated it:
Wow - I'm not even done with this book and I'm reviewing it as terrible. People who fail to write without appropriate grammar are like people who continually have a conversation during a movie. You can't follow anything going on and it makes both talking and movie watching a waste of time because you don't know what is going on with either activity!! The same is true with this book - I leave myself thinking, WTF? How could that logically happen without a flippin' semicolon or adjective or si
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Nov 05, 2008
David
rated it:
goat is a memoir that i found to be very engaging.
in the beginning of the book brad is attacked and almost killed by two men who ask him for a ride. throughout the rest of the book brad tries to find a way to cope with the horrific event while finding himself in some difficult situations. brad has a younger brother who ends up going to a college where he joins a fraternity; brad is very attached to his brother and decides to do the same. however, he always feels that he is holding his brot More...
in the beginning of the book brad is attacked and almost killed by two men who ask him for a ride. throughout the rest of the book brad tries to find a way to cope with the horrific event while finding himself in some difficult situations. brad has a younger brother who ends up going to a college where he joins a fraternity; brad is very attached to his brother and decides to do the same. however, he always feels that he is holding his brot More...
May 04, 2008
Jason
rated it:
Stylistically reminiscent of James Frey, which is a sort-of cheap shot when it comes to memoirs. I read this in a day, which I don't get to do often, because of time - yes - but also because there hasn't been a book as gripping. I think the one thing most people won't like about this is his almost stream-of-thought, conversational writing style. It's definitely not academic. While it doesn't bother me I wonder if it's a good style to take on. At times it almost feels too easy. But I don't
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Mar 26, 2008
Meagan
rated it: 
Another memoir. Normally I space my nonfiction material, but a little over a year ago Brad Land came to SIUE to read from Goat and for a book signing. I hadn't read the book, mostly I was going out of curiosity and the suggestion of one of my English Teachers. I missed the introduction, but I got to hear him read.
Anyway, I felt moved and bought the book and had him sign it. I didn't get around to reading it until just now though. Such is life.
Anyway, it is very well writt More...
Anyway, I felt moved and bought the book and had him sign it. I didn't get around to reading it until just now though. Such is life.
Anyway, it is very well writt More...
May 04, 2008
Dave
rated it: 
This is one of many books that I judged by its cover and ended up enjoying quite a bit. I still remember being in the book store and seeing this strikingly simple book cover and instantly picked up and read the description and bought it on the spot. It's the author's memoir about going through two particularly horrible moments in his life...an incident when he was more or less abducted and assaulted and another where he suffers through various hazing rituals at a Southern college. While reading
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Mar 30, 2007
Jake
rated it:
As a Kappa Sigma, I was intrigued by this memoir that allegedly dealt with the hazing-intensive pledging period of a young man in the mid-90's in South Carolina. What I ended up reading was more like a pathetic attempt at ripping off Dave Eggers.
Not only was the entire book pretty much void of cohesion or punctuation, the plot struggled to stay linear and relevant, with so many names of brothers and pledges dropped that it quickly became difficult to distinguish between tormentor an More...
Not only was the entire book pretty much void of cohesion or punctuation, the plot struggled to stay linear and relevant, with so many names of brothers and pledges dropped that it quickly became difficult to distinguish between tormentor an More...
Apr 28, 2009
Terry
rated it:
Great cover. Good idea: young man is mugged, feels shame and fear because he was attacked and didn't live up to the Vin Diesel ideal, so he goes off to college and rushes a fraternity, only to feel attacked again. Land never got me to care, and when the climactic event unfolds, it just feels flat and pointless. Sort of like the rest of the book. So while I wanted to like this book, there was nothing to hang onto: no creative use of language, no memorable characters, no theme about masculini
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Jun 29, 2010
Susan
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 26, 2008
Chris
rated it:
The style of this memoir was odd and engaging but the substance was far less compelling.
(Spoilers ahead)
While in college, a kid is carjacked and beaten. He later attends a different college with his brother and is hazed when he pledges a fraternity. He drops out before he's accepted. While I can intuit certain ties between these events, the author draws none himself which I found surprising. The book's unfocused. There's no special insight into frats or hazing. The events that unfold aren' More...
(Spoilers ahead)
While in college, a kid is carjacked and beaten. He later attends a different college with his brother and is hazed when he pledges a fraternity. He drops out before he's accepted. While I can intuit certain ties between these events, the author draws none himself which I found surprising. The book's unfocused. There's no special insight into frats or hazing. The events that unfold aren' More...
Jan 01, 2012
Frederick
rated it:
This is a memoir of the author's involvement in a fraternity at Clemson University in South Carolina. He decides he wants to become a pledge and goes through all of the initiation rites associated with it. The book describes disgusting and dangerous hazing rituals that are explicitly forbidden by the fraternity's rules, but practiced anyway.The book is written in a fast-paced style that reads very quickly.
Dec 11, 2007
Chris
rated it:
The style of this memoir was odd and engaging but the substance was far less compelling.
(Spoilers ahead)
While in college, a kid is carjacked and beaten. He later attends a different college with his brother and is hazed when he pledges a fraternity. He drops out before he's accepted. While I can intuit certain ties between these events, the author draws none himself which I found surprising. The book's unfocused. There's no special insight into frats or hazing. The More...
(Spoilers ahead)
While in college, a kid is carjacked and beaten. He later attends a different college with his brother and is hazed when he pledges a fraternity. He drops out before he's accepted. While I can intuit certain ties between these events, the author draws none himself which I found surprising. The book's unfocused. There's no special insight into frats or hazing. The More...
Sep 29, 2009
Chris
rated it:
This was a really unpleasant book. I'm sorry that Land went through a brutal attack the way he did, but joining a sadistic fraternity and giving a ride to yet another stranger and spending the rest of the book smoking and moping was not a good way to deal with his trauma. There's no one really to like in this book, even the author is not very sympathetic or likable. And for the love of pete, how hard would it have been to give us poor readers quotation marks? I loathe books where the dialogu
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May 08, 2010
Kathy
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I guessed I would like this book when Land makes the comment that one of two cool people was Holden Caulfield. The memoir was disturbing. I have to say that of the memoirs like this that I have read, this one was better written than most. It didn't seem to be self-serving and Land sincerely seems to want to warn others about what could happen during hazing. It would make good required reading for graduate level literature class.
Jun 30, 2010
Sarra
rated it:
Picked this audio up on the clearance shelves from Half Price Books for $3. I've been reading more memoirs and non-fiction lately, seems to be a cyclical thing for me. This is the authors story of a traumatic. life changing car-jacking as a young man that makes his experiences as a pledge to a fraternity more difficult because of the similarities.
Dec 29, 2010
Druscilla
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This is a stunning book. I'm not usually one for first person books, but this gripped me from the beginning. So many layers here, all written in a deceptively 'simple' direct style which contrasts nicely with the often heavy subject matter. A fave of mine since I first read it a couple of years ago! Highly recommended
Sep 05, 2010
Andy
rated it:
Essentially a true-crime book in substance, if not in style. The main thrust here is a one-two punch of violent experiences (a carjacking/mugging and a fraternity hazing), reported in stream-of-consciousness form that has the scent of "Emo" about it. The fact that the lead player here (i.e. the author) seems to be an almost absurdly pacifistic individual, lacking in the will to even cooperate in the investigation of his violent assault (he seems to be willfully trying to prevent thes
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Sep 24, 2007
Angie
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I think Brad needed a little more distance before writing this book. The only thing I really enjoyed about this was the unique writing style. Beyond that, it's a mere re-telling without much insight into any of the characters thoughts. I felt the parts about the fraternity hazing was merely for shock value, perhaps to get this book on shelves. There was no history to the fraternity (I found myself on wiki to fill in the gaps), no depth to other pledges experiences beyond what Brad himself wi
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Nov 29, 2009
Lindapinda
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I was in a few classes in the Masters Program with Brad, so this was especially exciting for me to read and see in print. This is a really good read. Brad's style is fresh and innovative. Thought patterns, speech patterns, all mimic the action in the book. I highly recommend this book from a fellow Wilmingtonian!
Sep 21, 2010
Sheryl
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I found this book to be disappointing. At the time I read it, I was a graduate student at UNC Wilmington, where Land completed his MFA. The book received considerable local hype, but I felt as though there were something missing. I struggled to identify with the main character.
