Goat Mountain: A Novel
Since the publication of A Mile Down (2005), a true account of Vann&#x2019;s misadventures at sea, his highly acclaimed works have won 15 awards and been translated into 18 languages. Yet perhaps none have drawn more deeply on Vann&#x2019;s own violent family history than this latest novel about an unnamed 11-year-old boy on a hunting trip with his male elders. While camping with his grandfather, father, and family friend on their ancestral 640-acre northern California ranch, with Goat Mountain looming above, the foursome stumbles on a poacher whom the boy, on an inexplicable impulse, shoots and kills. Recounting the incident decades later, the boy, now a man, describes the harrowing aftermath of his actions, from his father&#x2019;s decision to hang the corpse in full view of their camp, to a hellish night on the mountain alone after snagging his first buck.  Weaving biblical themes around bloodshed and sacrifice into visceral, graphic language, Vann&#x2019;s novel is not for the faint of heart, yet it just may be his finest, most contemplative work to date. --Carl Hays