Product Description

In this outrageously farcical adventure, hero  George Giles sets out to conquer the terrible  Wescac computer system that threatens to  destroy his community in this brilliant  "fantasy of theology, sociology, and sex" (Time).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #555782 in Books
• Published on: 1987-09-18
• Released on: 1987-08-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 748 pages

From the Publisher
In this outrageously farcical adventure, hero George Giles sets out to conquer the terrible Wescac computer system that threatens to destroy his community in this brilliant "fantasy of theology, sociology, and sex" (Time).

From the Inside Flap
In this outrageously farcical adventure, hero George Giles sets out to conquer the terrible Wescac computer system that threatens to destroy his community in this brilliant "fantasy of theology, sociology, and sex" (Time).

Customer Reviews

A hilarious, yet depressing, ode to futility.
First, let it be said that John Barth's work is hilarious and that Giles Goatboy is his best, in my opinion. Much of the humor is rooted in his insightful view of life, love, and the seeming futility of it all. Giles Goatboy offers up the microcosm of academia as the stage upon which the Greek tragedy of all our lives is played. The only real redeeming features in Barth's worldview are the laughs he rummages out of the ashes of nihilism, and his wicked, self-deprecating sense of humor. However, his works ultimately offer up a depressingly futile vision of life. His humor makes his perspective palatable, in fact, tasty, but I often find myself hoping that for his sake, Mr. Barth has more hope than his novels portray

Funny but dense
This was my first exposure to Barth but based on this it certainly won't be my last. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but what I can understand I find myself liking quite a bit. For those who have no idea about this book, it's basically the "quest" of Giles to reprogram the evil WESAC computer that is messing with the New Tammany College campus and even that brief blurb isn't enough to give this book ample justice. The plot is mostly straightforward, to me at least but the layers of satire that wrap around everything give the book greater depth, just when you think you've got it pegged as one thing, Barth gives a sly clue and it all shifts. Is it merely a big joke on the Cold War, or a comment on our culture in general. Or neither. The novel encompasses religion, sex, culture, war, just about everything you can think of and the humor is dark and bitter and at the same time hilariously funny, Giles is the perfect narrator and his observations are both hugely innocent and slyly subversive. The ultimate quest of stopping the computer becomes unimportant when you consider the events that it takes to get there and if there's any book with a more real yet wildly fantastic set of characters, I haven't read it, just when you think that he's treating them all as one big joke, a stray comment or an action reminds you that these are supposed to be real characters. As you can probably tell, this is a novel that you can't go in with any preconceptions, and if you do a lot of it will probably be lost on you. It's a massively dense read and took me almost two months (not because it was difficult, that weird time thing you see) but never once did I think of not finishing it. Definitely worth the time put into it and you can get the time, don't hesitate!

A masterful performance.
It took me a couple of starts to get past the first twenty pages of this book, but the persistence was well repayed. Over the course of a few works (Sot-Weed, End of the Road, Letters) Barth was one of the great powers of modern literature. Goat-Boy finds him in peak form. The longevity of his computer/campus framework, and the wisdom of his "if it ain't broke" philosophy are subject to worthy discussion, but anybody who can get away with slapping a Lord Buckley styled hipster take on Oedepus Rex right in the middle just to show off his emense skill is beyond bold. Brazen in all the best ways.