Reviews

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

kyranicolek's review

Paused due to heavy subject matter and current emotional state- more of a “BRB!”

mordekaikyaw's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very tense, slow paced and witty.

so_darling's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

miamon's review

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

gabtat's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

erinmolloy824's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-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

3.75

gregz_newdorkreviewofbooks's review

2.0

Brandon Taylor is a talented writer, but this novel about a bunch of pretentious, insufferable Iowa graduate students who spend most of their time tearing each other down is less a novel and more a series of incomplete and annoying character sketches.

Nothing much really happens. They have sex with each other. They worry about the future. They are cruel to each other. They make each other feel terrible about their art.

A cynical novel that tries to capture the unease of graduate school in only succeeds in reinforcing the worst stereotypes of "MFA novels."

peanut06's review

dark emotional lighthearted 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

3.75

lottie1803's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

3.5

claireguyatt's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I disliked the characters so much, and it didn’t feel very purposeful on the part of the author. It’s hard to place why, but it felt like Taylor was deaf to his own voice, writing the MOST pretentious protagonist that then angers at the pretentiousness of everyone around him, or uses lines like “he wasn’t trying to be argumentative” as if giving insight, but in reality the character is simply being extremely argumentative? The people were so unlikable and it felt without point - just people being shitty to each other for no particular reason, and that went on and on and on. The end was better than the start but they were always at least a bit irritating with sparse moments of happiness or good. The writing itself was pretty good, with some metaphors that read a little silly to me, and one poing where Taylor confused masochism for sadism. But sometimes it was also pretty, not in content but in prose.