Customer Reviews

Shit Magnet: One Man's Miraculous Ability to Absorb the World's Guilt

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having been a huge fan of "Answer Me" and "The REdneck Manifesto," I was surprised at first to discover that this book's general tone was not full-on rage and humor, but rather depression and despair. This must rank as one of the saddest books ever written. The sadness leaks through every page.

The book is very, very hard to read and almost impossible to enjoy. There are sections, like the chapter about the British youths who committed suicide, that rank as the best stuff Jim Goad has ever written.

Amid all the sadness, there are some eye-opening observations about social hypocrisy, especially the way that disputes between males and females are viewed.

I'm waiting for his Gigantic Sex book. It looks like he's learned to have fun since this last book.

Jim Goad's life and writing career has been one apocalyptic roller coaster ride to hell. This book wasn't intended as an autobiography, but it becomes one early on and Goad evinces such a magnetic personality that its really hard to put this book down. Goad's writing career began when he published the 'zine called Answer ME! with his then wife Debbie. The zines were an unprecedented exercise in misanthropy that lead to underground notoriety. They then put out the fourth edition, entitled 'The Rape Issue' which scared away all the ironic hipster poseurs and got Goad into trouble with the law. This book chronicles his life and the s*** Goad has had to deal with once the wheels of infamy were set into motion. What makes Goad so charismatic is his ability to admit all his flaws and his unflappable wit. The guy unapolagetically spills the beans on his life. His abusive, guilt-ridden upbringing, his damaged youth, his marriage to a dim Long Island yenta who eventually drove him into the arms of other women, and sent him into the direction of a psychotic fan named Ann. Here's a woman so deranged and manipulative and possessive that Goad had to fall for her, being a lover of damaged goods. The book is certainly compelling, though at times redundant, especially when Goad keeps returning, masochistically, into the arms of Anne, admittedly from a fear of being alone. Goad never really paints a pretty picture but neither does he absolve himself, also painting an ugly portrait of himself in the process (the guy was cheating on his wife, with Anne, while she slowly died from cancer.) The most intriguing part of the book is how Goad challenges long-accepted notions of proper conduct - don't provoke people by satirically challenging notions of women as sacred beings and their bodies as sacred temples; don't hit a woman no matter how many times she's provoked you or threatened your life; don't dare write something that might inspire deranged individuals to misinterpret your words and attack the White House with a shooting spree. Like his earlier book, The Redneck Manifesto, Goad once again puts together an impressive piece of work that provides us with a glimpse of one of America's leading agitators and pundit of politically 'unacceptable'' thought, manner and behaviour.

James Thaddeus Goad is not, in any sense, innocent. He (in reality) singlehandedly produced the "zine" that effectively put paid to the self-referential, pompous,and usually inept zine culture, basically by being so offensive to the status quo that it simply gave up in frustration. He's been a poster boy for dubious judgment, pleading guilty to an offense that anyone else would have went to trial for and won, and served nearly three years. And, yes, he did the deed: he beat the snot out of a female, a mistress who had hit, tormented, and threatened him so badly that he had had a protection order taken out against her (he did, however, continue to have wild sex with her on a daily basis). Goad says-and it's absolutely true-that had he not been a notorious, politically offensive writer, he would probably have received counseling and a small fine for the offense which could have put him away until he was old enough for Social Security.

All through the convoluted and often ugly story which this book tells-and quite competently-Goad realizes he's doing the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time, and in the wrong place. Yet Goad-who is obviously intelligent, driven, physically fit, and obsessively introspective-seems doomed by his own compulsion to follow a path he realizes is going to cause him serious trouble. And, it does.

Goad winds up in the Oregon correctional system, one of the few in the country where whites are not a minority, and serves his time without any life-threatening incidents: boredom, frustration, and petty annoyances are the order of the day, not shankings and rape. But Goad clearly does not belong in prison, and it's clear-not just to Goad, but to any rational observer-that Goad is far more victim than perpetrator here.

This book, apparently written during Goad's incarceration, is a readable narrative and, for most of us, a reminder that free speech is never really free: alienate the wrong (or right) people enough and if they get the chance to nail you, they will.

Jim Goad is a smart fella. He knows it, and he wants YOU to know it, too. He feels superior to you because you are not as smart as he is, can't write as well as he can, and probably have never authored a zine which garnered a heckuva lot of controversy in the Pacific Northwest about fifteen years ago.

Of course, most people have never heard of Jim Goad. This is too bad. The man CAN write, and he IS in the 99th percentile of intelligence, and though he dislikes humanity, he never claims to be anything but human, all too human. We should be able to spot the man his diplodocus-sized ego because of all the shit he's gone through--some, to be sure, self-inflicted--in his life.

This book is melancholy. A downer. A bummer. It is quality stuff, but it is not Goad's perhaps-still-unwritten magnum opus. It isn't funny (like The Redneck Manifesto). It is angry, at times OUTRAGED. It was written while Goad was incarcerated...and you can TELL.

Whereas The Redneck Manifesto was, indeed, a manifesto, Shit Magnet is Goad's Ecce Homo for hipsters. His Me-Against-The-World auto-encomium. His weltanschauung in a prison-blue nutshell.

The cover shot of the book is awful and deceptive: there is some real value inside, some trenchant insights, some DEEP THOUGHT. There is also a great deal of casuistry, grandiosity, and (self-aware) bone-headedness.

Why DID a guy as smart as Goad associate himself with a psycho hose-beast named Anne Ryan? As soon as he'd ascertained she was crackers, he should have zipped up and strode out. But he kept going back. For God sakes, WHY? 'Cause she was young and hot and his nuts overrode his brain? 'Cause he was lonely?

Only Goad knows for sure...though he does hint at the latter. We DO know for sure that his inability to figuratively kick her to the curb for good (he managed to do it just fine literally) cost him dearly: a two-year stretch in the pokey.

But the story (if not the book) has a happy ending...Goad is now married and a father(!), and living a bourgeois life in Atlanta, GA. He's still relatively young, and should be productive for some time to come. If he writes another book, I'd be inclined to check it out.

When I first read this book about 7 years ago my favorite-author allegiance changed from Tom Robbins to Jim Goad. You should buy this and all of his stuff. Pronto.

After reading Goad's previous, REDNECK MAINFESTO, I was anxioulsy awaiting the arrival of this autobiographical tome. Those who have followed his life from the early days of zine publishing with ANSWER ME! through to his relationship woes with Debbie and affair with nutjob Anne will be intrigued to get (admittedly) HIS side of the story.
This is a no holds barred look at his time with Debbie and Anne (WHY oh WHY did you KEEP GOING BACK Jim????)with Goad spending equal ammounts of time dissecting both his and their faults.It is a heartwrenching account of infidelity,obsession, hatred and full-blown psychosis.
If nothing else I will NEVER EVER complain again when getting grief from my girlfriend..NOTHING I ever go thru could be one hundreth as bad as the estogen-fuelled dragons Goad had to put up with.
As always he is brutally honest, and admits his part in spousal abuse and his flaws as a human being. You seldom get such honesty in mainstream authors anywhere else. There are no smoke and mirrors here.
The book also covers Goad's childhood and latter-day incarceration.
Highly recommended.

Mostly an autobiographical history of Goad's life, mainly focusing on his relationship with now-deceased wife Debbie and his violent dance with a girlfriend which led to his two year incarceration.

Along the way, Goad also lists various outside influences which he feels shaped his angry personality. He admits to making bad decisions, but also loudly states that others share the blame. Some people will throw a fit and accuse Goad of dodging all responsibility. But, regardless of what you might think of his self-justification, the writing is good.

As for the previous reviewer who reduced the writing to mere shock value, I disagree. Aside from maybe the intro page to each Answer Me! issue, none of Jim's writing has ever struck me as just shock value. He just has an aggressive writing style and a very sharp wit.

Although a couple of Magnet's rants get repetitive, most of it is very gripping. Take a chance, and buy a copy for yourself. I don't think there's anything out there quite like it.

"Photo 'A'," writes inflammatory idealogue and misunderstood satirist Jim Goad, "shows the world as I see it. Photo 'B' shows the world as they write about it. I will slowly circle everything that's wrong with photo 'B'." He does, and he succeeds in making the discrepencies between his own atomic-powered sense of ethics and his crushing experiences with the media, the government and the justice system one of the most devastating reads around. Consistent, galvanizing, harrowingly depressing, with a sense of humor as black as a jailhouse septic tank, Goad, as always, will ruin all the right people's weekends by denying them a hero, a villain (his memories from the happy times with his two estranged ex-paramours are as touching as most how-I-met-your-mom stories), or happy endings. It doesn't get any better. But Goad has been there, and to worse places than most of us care to visualise.

In SH*T MAGNET, Goad uses personal anedotes as catalysts for ranting about various strains of hypocrisy. Along the way, he manages to both move and amuse the reader in just about every paragraph.

SM is like a portrait of the elephant man done by H.R. Geiger; ugly yet captivating.

What I love about Jim Goad is that he refuses to back down. And why should he? Goad has the brains and strength to handle whatever comes at him. In this book he lets you know it.
Most people would back down and find the Lord, but not Goad. Through out the book he shows how and why he has been on the receiving end of other people's B.S. The amazing thing is he gets back up and keeps going. But he never comes across as a martyr, just a more angry person.
The book doesn't simplify the problems Goad has faced, but it shows there is even more to the story than what is on the surface. Sure, he has provoked some of the situations but only in very clever ways.
The circumstances leading up to Goad's imprisonment was the most interesting part of the book to me because of my personal experience that was very similar to his. Unlike him, I backed down and told people what they wanted to hear. Usually when a person is this honest they're confessing their sins and expressing their deep remorse. He doesn't feel that's necessary and it's not.
In the end, Goad makes a very strong statement about the world we live in. His philosophy is something I've been thinking about ever since I read the book over a year ago. That is because he is very honest and very right.
Goad's perspective on life is one that most readers should be grateful to read about rather than experience. If you have a truly open mind and want to see things from a different angle, read this book. If you want to challenge his argument and personal attack him, read this book. Nothing pleases him more than taking on the self-righteous. Once again, Goad shows his amazing ability to dismiss the B.S.