dlyons91's review against another edition
4.0
I can’t say I *enjoyed* reading this, as it was pretty bleak and lonely. But I can say Brandon Taylor is an exceptional writer, who deftly exposes the injustices large and small that people of color face on a daily basis. He also realistically portrays how our past traumas and slights impact even the most mundane of social interactions. Super interesting, super dark, super well written.
chris_crossed99's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
taliawi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
hcooper333's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
softrosemint's review against another edition
5.0
I am trying to review this without thinking about Brandon Taylor's <a href="https://blgtylr.substack.com/p/tar-is-a-campus-novel-grow-up">substack piece</a> about campus novels and this novel but it is ultimately difficult. I read the piece closer to its original posting and albeit, relatively recent, I find it very fundamental to my ideas about campus literature (or what we have aestheticised as dark / light academia) and why such novels work or do not work; it manages to capture into words something that I have struggled to formulate myself.
Even without it, though, I would like to believe that "Real Life" would have felt as as much of a refreshing breath as it did. The genre has suffered from too much aestheticisation and too little substance; too many people are more concerned with subverting it (or whatever their understanding of it is) than utilising it to tell a unique and interesting story. "Real Life", in contrast, comes with a strong sense of telling the story it wants to tell, rather than concern itself with optics.
For example, is Wallace a likeable person? Is he an unlikeable one? Who cares, he is a fleshed out and realised character. And as such, there are many layers to his story, many heavy elements of life he deals with or tries to figure out how to deal with - grief, depression, racism, homophobia. The sense of separation from the group of people who are supposed to be your friends, who are supposed to be your chosen family, in particular resonated with me as a reader. Who among us has not been crushed by the disonance of what academic life was meant to be and what it actually was? And how being an outsider can be both self-perpetuated and externally defined?
"Real Life" captures the messiness of a pivotal period of a person's life in a quiet beauty. There is sadness there but it never feels like torture; it is just what life is like.
Even without it, though, I would like to believe that "Real Life" would have felt as as much of a refreshing breath as it did. The genre has suffered from too much aestheticisation and too little substance; too many people are more concerned with subverting it (or whatever their understanding of it is) than utilising it to tell a unique and interesting story. "Real Life", in contrast, comes with a strong sense of telling the story it wants to tell, rather than concern itself with optics.
For example, is Wallace a likeable person? Is he an unlikeable one? Who cares, he is a fleshed out and realised character. And as such, there are many layers to his story, many heavy elements of life he deals with or tries to figure out how to deal with - grief, depression, racism, homophobia. The sense of separation from the group of people who are supposed to be your friends, who are supposed to be your chosen family, in particular resonated with me as a reader. Who among us has not been crushed by the disonance of what academic life was meant to be and what it actually was? And how being an outsider can be both self-perpetuated and externally defined?
"Real Life" captures the messiness of a pivotal period of a person's life in a quiet beauty. There is sadness there but it never feels like torture; it is just what life is like.
adambsmith8's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Racism, Death of parent, and Grief
mackenzielee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tranghoang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
about being at uw madison as a black queer man, it hits too close to home
jesseb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
it was fine