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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Intimate writing and full of gorgeous metaphor. So much is said inwardly, between the dialogue. Deeply resonant, heavy and assaulting at times. REAL LIFE is a studied look at covering up one’s emotions, reaching a breaking point, telling one’s story, and then dealing with the fall out. An engrossing, hopeful and satisfying read - I couldn’t put it down.
felt the entire range of human emotions reading this. physically exhausting but so worth it
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
“He wants to be not himself. He wants to be not depressed. He wants to be not anxious. He wants to be well. He wants to be good.”
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I just hate it when I can tell that someone did an MFA. It’s a me thing.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s a cool breeze blowing, carrying with it the sound of laughter and the faint smell of fish and lake water. It’s one of the last weekends of summer before the start of a new semester at some midwestern graduate school situated on a few large lakes. Wallace is a queer black man from Alabama who would rather spend his days locked away in lab performing repetitive experiments than go out with his friends. But on this particular weekend he agrees to hang out for a while at the lake for a Friday evening. And it’s here that he makes an unexpected meaningful connection with his allegedly straight white friend. The weekend continues after that night with events that make Wallace question whether this is real life or not.
A beautiful novel, that might hurt your heart at times, by an emerging author. Real Life explores themes of isolation, lost identity, racism, homophobia, and childhood trauma by a misunderstood protagonist.
A beautiful novel, that might hurt your heart at times, by an emerging author. Real Life explores themes of isolation, lost identity, racism, homophobia, and childhood trauma by a misunderstood protagonist.