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A review by writtenontheflyleaves
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Real Life by Brandon Taylor 🔬
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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🧫 The plot: Real Life follows a weekend in the life of Wallace, a PhD student at a Midwestern university, whose father died a few weeks ago. A disaster with his experiment prompts Wallace to grapple in a new way with his life - the discrimination he faces as a gay Black man, the cruelties inflicted on him by family, friends, colleagues and lovers, and what the possibilities are for him now, adrift from himself and from the world.
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This book hit me like a punch to the gut—to the extent that I wonder if I even have the words to describe it. This is a novel about cruelty and self-preservation; about racism and the wilful blindness of people who benefit from systemic injustice. It explores sexuality and identity and privilege; it is beautifully written. It is also, to me, unquestionably a grief book.
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In the (surprisingly populous) genre of “dead dad books” this is by far the most accurate I’ve ever read, and one that hit me instantly as soon as I started reading. I connected with it as if someone had plugged me into the mains. Grief puts you in your life as you’ve never been in it before while also taking you further out of it than you’ve ever been. I saw this experience in the “sudden inversion of scale” Wallace returns to throughout the novel, the sense of unreality he feels in his choices and his surroundings, and above all the way these things did not eclipse but heighten what was already there, throwing it into an intense and complex new relief. It’s such a beautiful and nuanced book and I think it’s a new all time favourite. Probs gonna go have a little cry about it after this lol
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🔬 Read it if you are even the least bit curious about it. Please, just trust me, it’s worth it.
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🚫 Avoid it if you’re not in a place to read about parental death, scenes of sexual assault, rape, or racism.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
-
🧫 The plot: Real Life follows a weekend in the life of Wallace, a PhD student at a Midwestern university, whose father died a few weeks ago. A disaster with his experiment prompts Wallace to grapple in a new way with his life - the discrimination he faces as a gay Black man, the cruelties inflicted on him by family, friends, colleagues and lovers, and what the possibilities are for him now, adrift from himself and from the world.
-
This book hit me like a punch to the gut—to the extent that I wonder if I even have the words to describe it. This is a novel about cruelty and self-preservation; about racism and the wilful blindness of people who benefit from systemic injustice. It explores sexuality and identity and privilege; it is beautifully written. It is also, to me, unquestionably a grief book.
-
In the (surprisingly populous) genre of “dead dad books” this is by far the most accurate I’ve ever read, and one that hit me instantly as soon as I started reading. I connected with it as if someone had plugged me into the mains. Grief puts you in your life as you’ve never been in it before while also taking you further out of it than you’ve ever been. I saw this experience in the “sudden inversion of scale” Wallace returns to throughout the novel, the sense of unreality he feels in his choices and his surroundings, and above all the way these things did not eclipse but heighten what was already there, throwing it into an intense and complex new relief. It’s such a beautiful and nuanced book and I think it’s a new all time favourite. Probs gonna go have a little cry about it after this lol
-
🔬 Read it if you are even the least bit curious about it. Please, just trust me, it’s worth it.
-
🚫 Avoid it if you’re not in a place to read about parental death, scenes of sexual assault, rape, or racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia