Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Late Americans

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

16 reviews

bg_oseman_fan's review

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed that this book took on multiple characters that have certain things in common, but also had unique situations or points of view. the author did a good job of presenting his characters in their own stories and when viewed by others. some of the stories did t particularly make a strong impression on me, while others were really interesting and engaging. a worthwhile read if you enjoy short stories in a contemporary setting with lgbtq+ themes.

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mr_cain's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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aliceeeee's review

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3.5

I guess it’s a slice of life and there are a range of characters but I didn’t find it that interesting as the content didn’t feel particularly novel and I didn’t find myself that invested in any character really. Also a bit confusing changing personalities so much especially with so many characters, hard to follow in any meaningful way when they’re often similar too..

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joensign's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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marjoleinvanderspoel's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Brandon Taylor is possibly the best writer of our generation. And yet, this is not his strongest work. These are some of my jumbled, incoherent thoughts upon finishing it. The writing is so so good, most of the characters are really interesting, but the chapters about women were such a disappointment and the connections between the chapters is tenuous at best. Caught somewhere between short stories and a novel, it felt like this book wanted to express many things but in the end it didn't really... go anywhere. I could identify an overarching theme of how your predetermined living conditions affect your life choices or lack thereof (there was a lot of focus on class but also for instance adoption, traumas and injuries which alter your perception of and course in life). I think Taylor does a great job of writing characters caught in between big decisions and that definitely shines here, and his characters also feel very real in that they make shitty choices sometimes, but I just wished there was something more to tie the stories together somehow. No wonder Seamus felt like the strongest character when he was the only one who got more than one chapter, and yet his story still felt unfinished. But so is life, a story as of yet unfinished. Excited to see what Taylor does next!

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aileron's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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iridescencedeep's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Uses "beautiful" 23 times.

Writing is gorgeous. Murky. There's tension in every conversation. Lots of meaning in the small details, in these people's lives, or maybe Taylor is just imagining it. Sex, sometimes meaningful but mostly otherwise. In another sense, always meaningful, because what else could have meaning.

^ That's the vibe, with a slightly higher density of five dollar words.

(personal note: date started is approximate)

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