Goats

Rating:
Summary: An ecletic and humorous read
Review: *Goats* by Mark Jude Poirer is one of the most unusual novels I've read this year. I hadn't heard much about it, but the title and the synopsis grabbed my attention. Those who enjoy coming of age novels won't be disappointed with *Goats*.

In Tucson, Arizona, a family of sorts lives together with no apparent purpose. A fourteen year old boy named Ellis divides his time between his ex-hippie mother, Wendy, and their live-in gardener/pool guy, Goat Man. Goat Man is in his forties and lives his days by smoking weed and taking care of his four goats. He goes on treks, walking with his goats across the state and sometimes into Mexico. Ellis will be sent to the East Coast for boarding school and is not looking forward to time away from Goat Man and the weed.

Once the separation between Goat Man and Ellis occurs, the plot divides. Goat Man is working towards a long trek to Mexico the next Spring, and Ellis is getting used to the East Coast and his semi-anal roommate. Several mini-adventures plague the two men, and many scenes are often laugh out loud funny. It's almost impossible not to adore both of them.

I was extremely impressed with Poirer's work and look forward to his future novels.

Rating:
Summary: An ecletic and humorous read
Review: *Goats* by Mark Jude Poirer is one of the most unusual novels I've read this year. I hadn't heard much about it, but the title and the synopsis grabbed my attention. Those who enjoy coming of age novels won't be disappointed with *Goats*.

In Tucson, Arizona, a family of sorts lives together with no apparent purpose. A fourteen year old boy named Ellis divides his time between his ex-hippie mother, Wendy, and their live-in gardener/pool guy, Goat Man. Goat Man is in his forties and lives his days by smoking weed and taking care of his four goats. He goes on treks, walking with his goats across the state and sometimes into Mexico. Ellis will be sent to the East Coast for boarding school and is not looking forward to time away from Goat Man and the weed.

Once the separation between Goat Man and Ellis occurs, the plot divides. Goat Man is working towards a long trek to Mexico the next Spring, and Ellis is getting used to the East Coast and his semi-anal roommate. Several mini-adventures plague the two men, and many scenes are often laugh out loud funny. It's almost impossible not to adore both of them.

I was extremely impressed with Poirer's work and look forward to his future novels.

Rating:
Summary: Goats is Great
Review: A few years back I stumbled over and loved Poirier's excellent short story collection, Naked Pueblo, and I'm glad to report his debut novel displays the same strong writing and sympathetically quirky offbeat characters as his short stories. Like his short stories, the book is set primarily in Tucson, although there are chapters in Pennsylvania, and a few short visits to Washington, D.C. The story centers around Ellis, a 14-year-old who is leaving his odd domestic life with his mother in Tucson for a stuffy East Coast boarding/prep school. His upbringing has been somewhat haphazardly managed by Wendy-his hippie turned New Age mother whom he addresses by her first name, of course-and a quiet pothead relic of the early '70s called "Goat Man," who raises hybrid marijuana and goats while living for free in the pool house. His father...), lives out east and hasn't played much of a role in Ellis's life, so he's mostly relied on Goat Man as his male role model. Goat Man, on the other hand, is mainly a wiser, older brother figure to him, setting him up with all the herb he needs, turning him on to Peter Tosh, and going on goat trekking trips.

Poirier sets this up odd background and proceeds to show Ellis's transformation as he enters the no less bizarre environment of his first year of boarding school. While he finds out that his father isn't as bad as he thought, and that there's more to life than pot, Goat Man engages in a low-intensity war with Wendy's smarmy new boyfriend, Bennet, who wants Goat Man gone. The narrative switches back and forth as both have little adventures, building to a climactic trip to Mexico and goat trek back across the border that highlights the changes Ellis has undergone and the cowardice behind Goat Man's laid-back persona.The story brims with authenticity throughout, from the crew team's erg sessions at prep school to the ornery goats in the desert. Poirier perfectly captures quintessential teenage boy moments like Ellis's first romantic interest and subsequent crushing disillusionment.

As with many coming of age novels, Ellis is often remarkably mature and sensible for his age, but Poirier shows us how came to be this way, living with his space cadet mother (he pays all the bills for her). Indeed, all the characters pop from the page as fully recognizable and sympathetic individuals, from Ellis's father's genuinely nice and bright new girlfriend, to Bennet's wanna-be-slacker...niece, to Ellis's priggish roommate and his booze-soaked older brother. The pace is languid but compelling, with a sort of deadpan, wry humor coursing throughout. Somehow, Poirier manages to be poignant and charming without being mawkish or sentimental. The three closest books I can think of are Jervey Tervalon's "Living For the City," Chris Fuhrman's "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," and Tom Perrotta's "Bad Haircut."

Rating:
Summary: Great Spin on the Coming-of -Age Novel
Review: Goats is an excellent coming-of-age novel, one which approaches it from a different angle. Ellis, the protagonist, is pretty much an old soul at fourteen. He's been smoking pot for years with his mother's pool man, the goat man, in the pool house. He lives a pretty idyllic life until he leaves his southwestern home for an easter boarding school. Ellis can handle the studies and his annoying roommate fairly well, it's just the lack of pot and lack of the Goatman he finds hard to deal with. Poirier's story is original and funny and Ellis is probably one of the coolest teenagers in fiction. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Coming of Age through personification
Review: Goats is an off the wall coming of age story, that brings with it the emotion and depth of a classic novel. The writing style of Mark Jude Porrier entrances the reader and creates an excitment that makes this book impossible to put down. Some of the subject matter may be extreme, but it suits its purpose of being a down to earth coming of age story. The goats that are so vividly described are so personified you begin to associate with them as much as you do the main characters. This book is a great example of a lazy summer read, and will bring a smile and possibly a tear to anyone who reads it.

Rating:
Summary: What a lovely read...
Review: I'm no critic. Just know what I like when I read it, and this is a lovely novel. What a cool movie it could be. (Sounding like a teenager is cool, too.) I hope Poirier publishes another novel soon.

Rating:
Summary: Suburban Animal Farm
Review: Poirier has written a very enjoyable book, "Goats." Ellis is an interesting teen protagonist. He comes across as quite mature in some respects, and typically adolescent in others. Javier the Goat Man is a great iconoclast who walks to a different drummer, reggae style. Wendy, Ellis' mother, is superbly suburban, demontrating the quintessential confusion of the New Age. Her latest live-in boyfriend, Bennett, is a smarmy villain who turns tricks with geriatric men and women while living off his girlfriend and criticizing the Goat Man for staying rent-free in the pool house. His underage sister Aubrey who seduces the Goat Man -- not a difficult task -- and then exacts revenge when spurned is delightfully self-centered. Ellis and his high school boarding buddy Barney get into some peculiar situations like the dope buy with a guy who turns out to want something other than their money. Last but not least are the goats themselves. Lance with his kingly goatliness (I created a new word) and stubborn Frieda who loves Ellis but won't obey the Goat Man are as defined personalities as the human characters, kind of a suburban animal farm. I had one problem understanding why Goat Man suddenly became so harsh with Ellis on the walk which lead to the climactic event. It didn't seem to be hinted at in his character and so came across to me as contrived. However, this book is a quick read, alternately touching and humorous. (It was ironic for me personally that I finished reading the book on a trip to Jamaica where goat meat has substantially replaced beef in demand!) I can't say whether or not this is great literature, but it sure was fun!

Rating:
Summary: Suburban Animal Farm
Review: Poirier has written a very enjoyable book, "Goats." Ellis is an interesting teen protagonist. He comes across as quite mature in some respects, and typically adolescent in others. Javier the Goat Man is a great iconoclast who walks to a different drummer, reggae style. Wendy, Ellis' mother, is superbly suburban, demontrating the quintessential confusion of the New Age. Her latest live-in boyfriend, Bennett, is a smarmy villain who turns tricks with geriatric men and women while living off his girlfriend and criticizing the Goat Man for staying rent-free in the pool house. His underage sister Aubrey who seduces the Goat Man -- not a difficult task -- and then exacts revenge when spurned is delightfully self-centered. Ellis and his high school boarding buddy Barney get into some peculiar situations like the dope buy with a guy who turns out to want something other than their money. Last but not least are the goats themselves. Lance with his kingly goatliness (I created a new word) and stubborn Frieda who loves Ellis but won't obey the Goat Man are as defined personalities as the human characters, kind of a suburban animal farm. I had one problem understanding why Goat Man suddenly became so harsh with Ellis on the walk which lead to the climactic event. It didn't seem to be hinted at in his character and so came across to me as contrived. However, this book is a quick read, alternately touching and humorous. (It was ironic for me personally that I finished reading the book on a trip to Jamaica where goat meat has substantially replaced beef in demand!) I can't say whether or not this is great literature, but it sure was fun!

Rating:
Summary: Great book, very enjoyable read
Review: when my friend told me about GOATS, i thought it sounded like a series of one-liners: farting goats, marijuana jokes, aging hippies, prep school dorks. it's not. somehow poirier manages to write a real novel with multidimensional realistic characters and an intriguing plot.