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A review by books_and_tea_make_katy_happy
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
3.0
“And the world went on. It always does. The world doesn’t care about you or me or any of this. The world just keeps on going.”
The story covers a late-summer weekend in the life of Wallace, a black postgraduate research student working at a predominantly white university lab in a Midwestern town. His research is painstakingly slow (there is a lot of talk about nematodes!) and his lab partners are on the one hand collaborative, but on the other paranoid about someone else getting ahead of them. He attempts to discuss his feelings of apathy with his circle of friends but finds it hard to communicate with them - everyone else has their own "stuff" going on and Wallace, being quiet and introverted, is often overlooked. On top of all this, Wallace is grappling with his feelings of grief for his father who died a few weeks previously (something he hasn't told his friends).
This was not a cheerful read by any stretch - I think the synopsis gives you an understanding of why this book was nominated for the 2020 Booker Prize (the criteria for which seems to be the more serious/moody the better!)... The complexities of living as a black, gay man in a white, straight community were clearly articulated. The relationships Wallace has with his friendship group were also complex, the alliances with some but not others, the tensions between straight/gay friends - and his covert fling with a straight man was a weird one. There seemed to be moments of tenderness between them but it felt like neither was being particularly honest about what they wanted from crossing the line between friends to lovers.
For me, the scene that I enjoyed reading most was of a tremendously awkward dinner party, where Wallace lights a firework and it explodes, causing a huge argument. That felt like it had the most tension and energy in the writing. Real Life is definitely a character-driven novel, which I don't usually mind, however Becky nailed it when she said that it didn't feel like you got closure at the end. It didn't feel as though Wallace "grew" as a character, or came to any breakthrough moments - I am a little frustrated at not knowing whether he stays on at the lab to complete his research (my money was on him leaving!).
Overall, the writing was good but I wouldn't be in a hurry to pick up anything else by the author - just too somber for me!
TW: racism, self harm, disordered eating, sexual assault.
The story covers a late-summer weekend in the life of Wallace, a black postgraduate research student working at a predominantly white university lab in a Midwestern town. His research is painstakingly slow (there is a lot of talk about nematodes!) and his lab partners are on the one hand collaborative, but on the other paranoid about someone else getting ahead of them. He attempts to discuss his feelings of apathy with his circle of friends but finds it hard to communicate with them - everyone else has their own "stuff" going on and Wallace, being quiet and introverted, is often overlooked. On top of all this, Wallace is grappling with his feelings of grief for his father who died a few weeks previously (something he hasn't told his friends).
This was not a cheerful read by any stretch - I think the synopsis gives you an understanding of why this book was nominated for the 2020 Booker Prize (the criteria for which seems to be the more serious/moody the better!)... The complexities of living as a black, gay man in a white, straight community were clearly articulated. The relationships Wallace has with his friendship group were also complex, the alliances with some but not others, the tensions between straight/gay friends - and his covert fling with a straight man was a weird one. There seemed to be moments of tenderness between them but it felt like neither was being particularly honest about what they wanted from crossing the line between friends to lovers.
For me, the scene that I enjoyed reading most was of a tremendously awkward dinner party, where Wallace lights a firework and it explodes, causing a huge argument. That felt like it had the most tension and energy in the writing. Real Life is definitely a character-driven novel, which I don't usually mind, however Becky nailed it when she said that it didn't feel like you got closure at the end. It didn't feel as though Wallace "grew" as a character, or came to any breakthrough moments - I am a little frustrated at not knowing whether he stays on at the lab to complete his research (my money was on him leaving!).
Overall, the writing was good but I wouldn't be in a hurry to pick up anything else by the author - just too somber for me!
TW: racism, self harm, disordered eating, sexual assault.