Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Wallace almost completely contradicts the Midwestern university town where he is hesitantly pursuing a degree in biochemistry. Black and homosexual from Alabama, he is a quiet young guy who has left his family behind but hasn’t been able to escape the dark memories of his upbringing. Wallace has maintained a watchful distance even within his own group of pals out of self-preservation; some of them are dating one other, others are dating women, and some are acting straight. However, over the course of a late-summer weekend, a string of altercations with coworkers and a chance meeting with a seemingly straight, white classmate work to weaken his defences while revealing long-hidden currents of animosity and desire inside his group.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
60 used from $2.89
Free shipping
Amazon.com
The question of whether it’s ever truly possible to transcend our personal wounds and at what cost is asked in the book Real Life, which is both profound and lacerating in its impact. A shockingly intimate, violent, and merciful novel about friends in a Midwestern university town. Written by an exciting new voice.
Real Life is about the racism, homophobia, and alienation experienced by a young guy from Alabama who is pursuing a biochemistry degree at a Midwestern institution. It describes the daily microaggressions he encounters and how he maintains his own identity. It explores desire, agony, and sadness, memory, fantasy, events from the protagonist’s youth, as well as the present, while posing the question, “What is real life, anyway?” It is incredibly moving and emotional.
A powerful and unexpected story about a black gay graduate student at a university in the Midwest who is at odds with both himself and his surroundings. In his program, he is the sole student of colour. The tale is highly instructive regarding how black people frequently find themselves marginalized by, pointed at, and commented about by apparently ignorant white people.
Scientist Wallace’s research is having trouble. One of his graduate school classmates questions whether he is pushing himself too far. Of course, the speaker isn’t consciously trying to be racist, despite Wallace’s strong and undoubtedly accurate perception. Wallace is incredibly self-conscious for a variety of reasons, some of which become clear as the book goes on.
Most unexpectedly, he starts dating Miller, a supposedly straight classmate, and enters into a relationship that is more tense than tender.
In a fantastic passage that showcases Taylor’s writing prowess, Wallace at one point confides in Miller about his background. All in all, it made me think of Faulkner’s THE BEAR, which took us on a protracted diversion of beautiful prose. At the conclusion of this lengthy chapter, I was out of breath. Throughout this multi-layered story, everyone has trouble connecting. Are these folks just buddies because they live close to one another, or are some of them actually pals? In a novel where ambiguity is just as important as narrative, there is a lot of uncertainty.
