Goat

A Memoir

by Brad Land

When he is 20, Brad Land picks up a couple of hitchhikers who kidnap him after robbing him and beating him up--an incident from which he finds it hard to recover mentally. At a loss, he follows his fast-living brother to Clemson University in South Carolina and joins his fraternity. But the horrific hazing rituals he is forced to undergo as a "goat"--a new pledge--bring back memories of his earlier trauma, especially after a fellow student dies in the process. Eventually, Land is able to think things through and figure out a way back to psychological health.

Editions of Goat

ISBN 9781400060931	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher Random House Inc	Date 2004	Price $1.00	Good
ISBN 9781402581397	Binding/Format Digital	Publisher Recorded Books	Date	Price None Available
ISBN 9780812969689	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Random House Inc	Date 2005	Price $1.75	Used - Good

Publisher Notes

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.

From the Hardcover edition.

Media Reviews

"How Land can stand to revisit these miseries with such delirious pungency would be a wonder, except that his sense of relief at having survived them is palpable. Fine, grim work."

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