A review by mckinleyj
Real Life by Brandon Taylor

dark emotional sad tense 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

2.5

“Smells of beer and sweat”, “smells like beer and sweat”, “smelled like sweat and beer”… WE GET IT, everything smells like sweat and beer in this book. I truly wish I liked this book more. I thought I would. It feels like I should in theory. I want to feel bad for Wallace, and I did at least a little throughout the whole book—though my sympathy and empathy slowly ran out as I read—, and feel as though Taylor wants the reader to, but it’s hard to not feel as though many of Wallace’s current problems are almost entirely his fault. Yes, he has experienced horrific trauma and is in a less than hospitable environment, but I don’t know if there is a single instance in the book where he makes a choice that doesn’t cause himself and nearly everyone around him further harm. And again yes, this is likely a result of the things he has been through, but at some point personal responsibility has to come into play. I wish I felt worse for him, but Wallace is self centered, pretentious, rude, self righteous, and thinks of himself as the only person in the world who has ever experienced any kind of negative emotion or event (again despite causing more than his fair share of harm in other people’s lives). The least likable main character I have read in a good while. The writing is a weird mix—great at times; unimaginative, abrasively repetitive, and self appreciating at others. I have no doubt Taylor is an extremely talented writer but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s almost trying too hard here, attempting to write in a style that isn’t exactly his. The novel attempts to discuss the lasting impacts and trauma of a variety of horrible experiences—sometimes successfully and sometimes bordering on trauma porn.
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