Goat: A Memoir by Brad Land Review

Title: Goat; a memoir

Author: Brad Land

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Description:

Reeling from a terrifying assault that has left him physically injured and psychologically shattered, nineteen-year-old Brad Land must also contend with unsympathetic local police, parents who can barely discuss “the incident” (as they call it), a brother riddled with guilt but unable to slow down enough for Brad to keep up, and the feeling that he’ll never be normal again. When Brad’s brother enrolls at Clemson University and pledges a fraternity, Brad believes he’s being left behind once and for all. Desperate to belong, he follows. What happens there—in the name of “brotherhood,” and with the supposed goal of forging a scholar and a gentleman from the raw materials of boyhood—involves torturous late-night hazing, heartbreaking estrangement from his brother, and, finally, the death of a fellow pledge. Ultimately, Brad must weigh total alienation from his newfound community against accepting a form of brutality he already knows too well. 

A searing memoir of masculinity, violence, and brotherhood,Goat provides an unprecedented window into the emotional landscape of young men and introduces a writer of uncommon grace and power.

(description from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/281221.Goat)

My Review:

I read an article not long ago about some of the nonfiction books becoming movies this year. There are actually quite a few so I decided to pick up a few to test out for myself. I have never really read much nonfiction so I wanted to find my groove in the genre and maybe see what would be a good fit. 

I am not sure this was it. I haven't really dove head first into it yet but I didn't feel like this was for me. Maybe, with my love of historical fiction, something a little more history based will be a better fit and I plan to give it a try in the very near future.

There were elements of this memoir that I enjoyed, maybe Brad and his relationship with his brother Brett. How great is it to have a brother who you care some much about and who is equally devoted to you. That is so nice. Even though Brad, who wrote the memoir, is the oldest he often comes across as looking up to Brett and wanting to impress him and follow in his footsteps.

After Brad is abducted, carjacked, and left for dead he is in a pretty fragile state. When he decided to go ahead and head to university and join a fraternity it seems like something that is really and illustration of his mental state. I know every Greek system says they don't tolerate hazing but to some degree there is hazing even in the smallest groups and in the most well monitored systems. In Brad's case there weren't many boundaries and the hazing was so natural to the brothers that he didn't think to say no at first.

I loved how the story began and the writing style which read often times like disjointed thoughts. It felt authentic to what Brad would have been feeling at the time. However, once the fraternity stuff started to go down so did the story in my opinion. I know it was supposed to seem like he was victimized and was in a fragile mental state (which, let's be honest he should be in a fragile mental state after everything) but it didn't read that way. It feel flat and I didn't empathize with the character the way I know the author meant me to.

Overall the story was interesting and the writing style was unique but maybe this just wasn't the best fit for me. I do plan to give the film adaptation a try and see how it turns out. Link below for the film starring James Franco.

My Star Rating:

3 out of 5 Stars

Read If You Enjoyed:

   

About The Movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4437216/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The film version stars James Franco and Nick Jonas and came out January of this year in limited release. I haven't seen it yet but I really want to so I can see how they adapted the story and how they compare. 

I think that Franco would do an interesting job playing Brad and think he could do a lot with the story. He always (in my opinion) takes controversial subject matter and really brings it to light. He has a pretty interesting history with book to movie adaptations and I enjoy following his career in that respect.