Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

17 reviews

bookwrm526's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Racism, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Infidelity

hollieadaw's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Abandonment

marjoleinvanderspoel's review

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

yavin_iv's review

reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Racism

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, and Vomit

Minor: Violence

voidboi's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

What can I even say about this book? I ached as I read, submerged in gorgeous and brutal writing, feeling both deep connection and intense alienation as I was let into Wallace's head/body. 

In Real Life, the complexities of grief, memory, identity, and relationships converge over a weekend of experimental setbacks, socializing with friends, walks through a midwestern city, and a burgeoning sexual and toxic connection. The story is grounded in Wallace's internal experience, playing with the stark border between the self and others, as the othered. I was especially impressed by the way Taylor masterfully evokes the existential crisis that is academia, different from my experience in humanities and social sciences, but still painfully familiar with far-reaching impacts. Throughout this book, the world is honestly rendered in both condemnation and empathy. It hurts. I'll carry this one with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, and Vomit

nenesuxz's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

So so deeply sad, I loved the emotions, I was obsessed with the writing, but I feel as if the plot was a little lost… 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Gaslighting

hannahmayreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.5

 This is a beautiful book, but hauntingly so.

I read a decent number of campus novels as part of my degree, but none were like this. It feels modern and relevant in ways the ones on my reading lists never were while maintaining that essential rarefication of academic life. Taylor however brings 'real life' to this cosseted world.

It is written with nuance and sensitivity to the complexities and contradictions of the characters, and nothing is just for the shock of it. The tone is precise and observant, the narrative is detail orientated. That description also sums up Wallace rather well. Despite this precision, it feels like the novel (and Wallace) could slip away at any moment - it is fragile, almost liquid (as the Guardian observed). I felt like we got to know Wallace intimately - we are after all privy to his innermost thoughts and the workings of his mind. And yet for all the intimacy remains entirely unknowable, an enigma.

To put it succinctly, this is the book I wanted A Little Life to be. Taylor has written a novel that is deeply intimate but is balanced where A Little Life wasn't by its clinical narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence