Pilgrims Upon the Earth: A Novel

by Brad Land

Brad Land’s acclaimed memoir, Goat, was a riveting, brilliantly crafted account of masculinity, violence, and brotherhood. Now here is Land’s remarkable fiction debut, a haunting novel of a stark, troubled coming-of-age.

At fifteen, Terry Webber hovers uneasily between child and man. His father, the second-shift foreman at the textile plant in their South Carolina town, is too tired to pay Terry much mind. Their relationship lies stagnant and silent; neither is willing to acknowledge the hole Terry’s mother left in their lives when she killed herself only months after Terry’s birth.

Terry wanders aimlessly through school, trying to fill his days as best he can. When he meets Alice Washington, he is immediately drawn to her enigmatic and vibrant spirit. Together, they seek a way out of their numbing existence and set out for Alice’s sister’s commune in Colorado, in pursuit of an existence free of parents and restrictions. Yet when a brutal accident occurs, Terry is left reeling. As he slips further into depths of destruction, drugs, and violence, Terry grapples to make sense of all that has come before in order to find a future worth living.

Told in spare, hypnotic prose and a raw, distinctive voice, Pilgrims Upon the Earth is a mesmerizing odyssey through heartbreak and isolation–a luminously written examination of fathers and sons, displacement and brutality, loss and young love.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mac]

Brad a somewhat new author made a hell of a debut with his brutally honest edgy memoir Goat. In his second book Pilgrims upon the earth I thought the only fitting for him to such write his own unique style. It took guts to create your own kind of southern dialect and learning the type of writer Brad is it seems to fit perfectly with his original style. The second book was different but Awesome at the same time. He brilliantly captured the dark feelings and emotions of teenager Terry Webber who struggles with life and relating to his father after the death of his mom. It was in this difficult setting that Terry gets a glimpse of hope when meets the love of his life. Together they set their eyes on a promise land of sorts at a commune in Colorado but not long into the trip Terry faces another encounter with death but this time it just might be too much for him to handle. Depression, Drugs, Anxiety and Despair grab a hold of him tightly as he tries desperately too hang on. This is a great and unique second work by an incredibly talented author. I’d recommend anything written by Brad land and think he may the next big time writer to look out for in the future.

[Jerry]

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[Matt]

This was a weird read, but a really pleasing one. I want to write more about it, for my webpage, so look for something like that someday, perhaps. It'll be all about what is happening here with the voice, which is really foregrounded here, and which doesn't quite seem the exclusive possession of the narrator/ focalizer. In other words, it sort of comes from outside the book and presses down on the characters, the story, etc, not always in service of them. But still, pretty killer, and ballsy.

Also funny in a lot of spots. Worth reading, slowly or quickly. I tried it both ways:)

[S]

Like other reviewers stated, this book is difficult to read due to the author's unusual writing style. I had to read almost every chapter twice before it made any kind of sense.

I did finish the book, but it was waaaay too much work and I skipped several parts because it was too angsty for me. Reading this book reminded me of reading a teenager's overwrought diary.

[Courtney]

This probably isn't a fair review as I barely started reading this book before I gave up on it. The author has a very weird way of writing - several times, I read an entire chapter and then thought to myself, "What in the world is going on?" I guess I didn't have the patience for this book.

[Nic]

Or I should say tried to read. Just didn't hold my interest, which is a shame because his memoir was so good.

[Amy]

fan of brad land