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anawest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Rape, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Homophobia
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
❄️ In this collection of short stories, Taylor explores the emotional charge that runs just under the surface of our encounters with other people. The linked short stories at the centre of the collection focus on three people: Lionel, a PhD student recently discharged from hospital after a suicide attempt; Charles, the injured dancer who becomes attracted to Lionel at a potluck, and Sophie, Charles's dancer girlfriend. As Lionel becomes drawn into the murky waters of Charles and Sophie's relationship, he must weigh his deep loneliness against his continued vulnerability.
There's really no excuse for me putting off reading this for so long, except that I loved Real Life so much that I was afraid of having such Big Feelings again. But you know what? I was right to be, because Brandon Taylor wields his pen like a scalpel.
Throughout this book, Taylor probes what it means to be vulnerable. He is a master of illustrating the artificiality of social settings: a dinner party, a first date, a university exam. All the opaque stuff we move through to try to reach each other - or rather, to mediate our interactions so that we don't have to reach each other, so we can broadcast ourselves from a safe distance. His stories illustrate the life and feeling seething beneath this calm surface, and the moments where characters unexpectedly connect feel raw and thrilling, charged with danger.
This sense of danger is present not just as an idea but an embodied thing. Food, sex, blood, all of these things are closely connected to the emotional heart of each story. The characters' emotional fragility (or seeming lack thereof) is always carefully pitched against their physical being, the tether they have to the world, lending real weight to acts of cruelty or tenderness. There's something raw and animal and real about these stories that I couldn't help but love.
❄️ Read it if you're in the market for a short story cycle, or a wintry book as this is all snowdrifts and low-hanging skies. And obv if you loved Real Life ❤️
🚫 Avoid if you're steering clear of narratives around suicide and physical or sexual violence.
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Sexual assault
annuich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Self harm, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Homophobia, Drug use, Death, and Cancer