Scan barcode
A review by nicdoeswords
The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I was really in the mood for some meditative, abstract, quality literary fiction when I picked up The Late Americans, and it did not disappoint.
I'm always really interested in the reasons people don't like books I loved. This book has a lower review average on both this site and other review sites than most books I pick up. Aside from some obvious reasons (Taylor is Black and gay, and writers a really diverse set of characters who are messy and deeply flawed), I also think the structure of this novel challenged people. It reads like a set of interconnected short stories — the difference between this and a short story collection being, in my opinion, that each story does progress the plot of the ones that came before it, even if we don't see the impact of that right away. Even just the passage of time makes a difference in the lives of each of our POV characters, of which there are many. Also, the jacket copy sets up really interesting expectations! One of the things that is summarized therein doesn't happen until literally the final chapter of the book. It's not really a "spoiler" because we don't meet most of the characters involved until at least halfway through anyway, but I think it was a bold choice to summarize the book using that particular lake house trip. And yet, I don't mind it! It conveys the book's themes strongly and for me, it worked.
(Also, a lot of the critiques of this book complain that there's too much sex. It's literally an adult litfic novel about queer art students in Iowa City. Are we kidding?) (And the sex scenes do a lot of character and theme work, anyway! Everyone go read Body Work by Melissa Febos and then come back and talk to me, but until then I don't want to hear it.)
Frankly, most things about this book worked really well for me. Maybe I'm just a big Brandon Taylor fan, but I think the quality of his prose is actively reassuring as a reader. We're going somewhere for a reason, and with a purpose. The themes will come together, and also you'll have to do a lot of work on your own to make the connections that will help you get the most out of your reading experience. This book doesn't hand over any easy answers. At the same time, Taylor really likes to engage his characters in conversation about political ideology. The discussions in this book about race, money, sexuality, gendered violence, privilege, justice... it's a really layered text! I saw an interview he did where he talked about his desire to write about characters whose views he doesn't personally share, and I think he did an incredible job presenting lived-in ideologies and letting different characters' beliefs come into conflict during scenes.
The Late Americans is in many ways a meditation on how we come to terms with ourselves in early adulthood. Where do we come from? What are we scared of? What comes next? How much do we have to feel guilty about? How do we get it right? And why do we keep getting it wrong instead? I love all of these big questions. I love a book that grapples but doesn't pretend to land on an easy answer.
The setting work here is brilliant. I've never been to Iowa City or to the midwest at all, but I felt so connected to the sticky summers and the kitchen in the hospice and the too-narrow dance studio classroom and the poet's bar, all of the locations in the text that felt so lived-in and present. There's a real melancholy rooted in place here, paired with the liminality of living there as a college student and knowing you'll leave soon, and so will everyone else. (Or, at least, everyone else who matters to you. The tension between locals and students was touched on too and really struck me.)
This book has a lot of violence, and specifically a lot of sexual violence. There are uncomfortable, slow scenes. The "bad guys" don't get punished in any kind of a narratively satisfying way, and people who you're glad to see break up end up back together two chapters later. Taylor's ability to paint realistic portraits of life didn't fail to impress me here. Did I like Real Life better? I think so, but time might sway me to The Late Americans. A lot of people didn't like The Late Americans very much at all. I think they're wrong for that.
Maybe I'm just a contrarian. Either way, this book was a win for me.
I'm always really interested in the reasons people don't like books I loved. This book has a lower review average on both this site and other review sites than most books I pick up. Aside from some obvious reasons (Taylor is Black and gay, and writers a really diverse set of characters who are messy and deeply flawed), I also think the structure of this novel challenged people. It reads like a set of interconnected short stories — the difference between this and a short story collection being, in my opinion, that each story does progress the plot of the ones that came before it, even if we don't see the impact of that right away. Even just the passage of time makes a difference in the lives of each of our POV characters, of which there are many. Also, the jacket copy sets up really interesting expectations! One of the things that is summarized therein doesn't happen until literally the final chapter of the book. It's not really a "spoiler" because we don't meet most of the characters involved until at least halfway through anyway, but I think it was a bold choice to summarize the book using that particular lake house trip. And yet, I don't mind it! It conveys the book's themes strongly and for me, it worked.
(Also, a lot of the critiques of this book complain that there's too much sex. It's literally an adult litfic novel about queer art students in Iowa City. Are we kidding?) (And the sex scenes do a lot of character and theme work, anyway! Everyone go read Body Work by Melissa Febos and then come back and talk to me, but until then I don't want to hear it.)
Frankly, most things about this book worked really well for me. Maybe I'm just a big Brandon Taylor fan, but I think the quality of his prose is actively reassuring as a reader. We're going somewhere for a reason, and with a purpose. The themes will come together, and also you'll have to do a lot of work on your own to make the connections that will help you get the most out of your reading experience. This book doesn't hand over any easy answers. At the same time, Taylor really likes to engage his characters in conversation about political ideology. The discussions in this book about race, money, sexuality, gendered violence, privilege, justice... it's a really layered text! I saw an interview he did where he talked about his desire to write about characters whose views he doesn't personally share, and I think he did an incredible job presenting lived-in ideologies and letting different characters' beliefs come into conflict during scenes.
The Late Americans is in many ways a meditation on how we come to terms with ourselves in early adulthood. Where do we come from? What are we scared of? What comes next? How much do we have to feel guilty about? How do we get it right? And why do we keep getting it wrong instead? I love all of these big questions. I love a book that grapples but doesn't pretend to land on an easy answer.
The setting work here is brilliant. I've never been to Iowa City or to the midwest at all, but I felt so connected to the sticky summers and the kitchen in the hospice and the too-narrow dance studio classroom and the poet's bar, all of the locations in the text that felt so lived-in and present. There's a real melancholy rooted in place here, paired with the liminality of living there as a college student and knowing you'll leave soon, and so will everyone else. (Or, at least, everyone else who matters to you. The tension between locals and students was touched on too and really struck me.)
This book has a lot of violence, and specifically a lot of sexual violence. There are uncomfortable, slow scenes. The "bad guys" don't get punished in any kind of a narratively satisfying way, and people who you're glad to see break up end up back together two chapters later. Taylor's ability to paint realistic portraits of life didn't fail to impress me here. Did I like Real Life better? I think so, but time might sway me to The Late Americans. A lot of people didn't like The Late Americans very much at all. I think they're wrong for that.
Maybe I'm just a contrarian. Either way, this book was a win for me.