Fraternity, Benjamin Nugent
Fraternity, Benjamin Nugent
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Fraternity
Stories

Author: Benjamin Nugent

Narrator: Peter Ganim

Unabridged: 3 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/07/2020


Synopsis

*This program includes Jesse Eisenberg's narration of the story God, previously recorded for the Paris Review Podcast*

Voiced by an off-kilter chorus of the young and desperate to belong, Benjamin Nugent’s provocative collection pries the fraternity door off its hinges, daring us to peer inside with amusement, horror, and also love.

In a Massachusetts college town stands a dilapidated colonial: Delta Zeta Chi. Here, we meet Newton, the beloved chapter president; Oprah, the sensitive reader; Petey, the treasurer, loyal to a fault; Claire, the couch-surfing dropout who hopes to sell them drugs; and a girl known, for unexpected reasons, as God. Though the living room reeks of sweat and spilled beer, the brothers know that to be inside is everything.

Fraternity celebrates the debauched kinship of boys and girls straddling adolescence and adulthood: the drunken antics, solemn confessions, and romantic encounters that mark their first years away from home. Beneath each episode lies the dread of exclusion. The closeted Oprah’s hero worship gives way to real longing. A combat veteran offers advice on hazing. An alienated young woman searches for a sanctuary. And the shadow of assault hovers over every sexual encounter.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

About Benjamin Nugent

Benjamin Nugent is the winner of The Paris Review’s 2019 Terry Southern Prize. His stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and The Unprofessionals: New American Writing from The Paris Review. He has written for n+1, The New York Times Magazine, Time, and other publications.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian

I have been anticipating this collection since the opening story "God" showed up in the Paris Review in 2013. "God" is a masterclass in voice and pathos--its balance of humor and sadness is really remarkable. I've taught it in intro to lit classes and it nearly always kills. The rest of the collectio......more

Goodreads review by Rachel

These funny and melancholy stories explore the mating rituals and coping mechanisms of thoughtful, homoerotic frat brothers. Wandering around Amherst, Massachusetts, troubled, self-conscious minds confess weird theories. Endearing freshmen high-five and then feel ashamed they high-fived. With streak......more

Goodreads review by Sarmat

I normally never read short stories, but I had heard great review about this collection, and being a fraternity man myself, I am always fascinated at reading the fictional takes on Greek Life, especially the brothers that are a part of the chapter (and not the smut books - but more the character stu......more

Goodreads review by Brooke

This book is funny, homoerotic and smells of state beer. I went into this collection expecting something a little bit different... maybe a little more criticism of greek life. Nugent definitely toed the line with consent in a couple stories, but didn't go far enough for me. The book is not meant to......more


Awards

  • New York Magazine Best Books of the Year