Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

6 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

This was a book that really crept up on me. It's dense, heavy, slow, and incredibly brutal, and it was only towards the end that I properly started to realise just how brilliant it is. It's overwhelmingly about loneliness, and explores that - as well as other themes - so, so well. The characters are incredibly well-developed for a story set mostly over one weekend, and by the end my heart was just completely aching. I just know that this is a book I will not forget. I do wish that there had been some nuance to the way that animal exploitation is portrayed, but otherwise I loved this so much that I don't feel I can give it less than the full five stars.

I always encourage checking trigger warnings, but with this one I would do so even more heavily than usual - there is a LOT of really heavy content in this one and it's definitely one to only go into if you really feel you're in a good place to handle it. If you do feel able to cope, though, I truly cannot recommend this enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Rape, Blood, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Vomit and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Ableism

megpotter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I have never read a book quite like this. Taylor's prose is beautiful and visceral, and I feel like this will be a classic in the not to far off future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolute new fave. I'm here for societal critque and especially if it includes acedemia. And what a painful but beautiful book this was. Filled with rage, hurt, fear and indecision, it's nuanced and unapologetic and real. Immediately adding Taylor's other work to my tbr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Addiction, and Animal death

isobel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Classism

Minor: Vomit and Animal death

oliverlang's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

I'm not sure what I expected from this book to begin with but as it went on I found myself compelled to read more in the hopes that the resolutions I wanted from it would come to fruition.

There's a lot of friend group drama going on throughout this book with a lot of dark/serious themes. 

I feel like I wanted this book to be more than it was. It had the opportunity to provide strong character development and show a bisexual identity and it just didn't give me that. 

Although the book only documents the events over one weekend, the ending felt unfinished and the final chapter came out of the blue with a flash back to the friends meeting for the first time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

frutista_freeze's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Death

Minor: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts

This book just wasn't for me. It was slow which is fine, but I also had a hard time personally connecting to certain aspects of Wallace's life even though I shouldn't have. That being said, the book wasn't Bad