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A review by thebarandthebookcase
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
5.0
If there is one book you should read this year, it’s Real Life. The fact that this is a debut novel written in five weeks blows my mind. Taylor’s writing is so exceptional and the story is gutting, layered, and necessary. I firmly believe this is an instant classic.
Real Life follows a single weekend in which Wallace, an introverted, black, and gay graduate student, is faced with multiple encounters with his peers which lead to him questioning everything about himself, others, his past, and ultimately his place in the world. Brandon Taylor expertly uses the “campus novel” as a launching point to discuss so much in so few pages. Every page plucks an emotion from the reader, with certain passages leaving me astounded at Taylor’s ability to so directly put into words what many of us feel on a daily basis. It reminded me of the power of the novel.
I could go on forever, but in short, please read this book.
Real Life follows a single weekend in which Wallace, an introverted, black, and gay graduate student, is faced with multiple encounters with his peers which lead to him questioning everything about himself, others, his past, and ultimately his place in the world. Brandon Taylor expertly uses the “campus novel” as a launching point to discuss so much in so few pages. Every page plucks an emotion from the reader, with certain passages leaving me astounded at Taylor’s ability to so directly put into words what many of us feel on a daily basis. It reminded me of the power of the novel.
I could go on forever, but in short, please read this book.