A review by pravda_iskra
Real Life by Brandon Taylor

5.0

Best book I read in 2020 so far.

This book is set in an unnamed Midwest university, but it clearly is UW-Madison, which is also my alma mater. This made the book extra real for me, because I was everywhere mentioned in the novel. Sadly, the racism is also something I experienced at UW-Madison (though not anti-black racism, since I'm not black but Latina), and Brandon Taylor captured it in a heart-wrenching, intense way. It was like I was back in undergrad.

Every word had meaning. Every word was meant to be on the page. Nothing dragged. This book is an intense , quick read that I recommend to everyone.