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_hollie064_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Rape
cschulein's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Rape
Moderate: Racism
cadystanton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
jennaclarek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
okay so either i am bad at reading summaries (likely) or nobody had the foresight to tell me this is apart of the "toxic friendgroups who are all a little in love with each other but also hate each other" universe (less likely)...because holy cow i wasn't expecting this powerhouse. immediately from the get go i was compelled by the writing, the characters, and the overall tone of this book. it's so well written, the prose is just breathtaking, and i really will need to pick it up again to underline all the fantastic passages in here. it touches on so many of my favorite things - academia, the complexities of queer friendship, grief...
this is a very dark book - it touches on some heavy topics, and overall there aren't a lot of positive scenes. it has flickers of light throughout, but a lot of it is unfair and a little hopeless and incredibly frustrating. but i think it's such a fantastic book because brandon taylor does not shy away from the darkness. the whole point of the book IS the darkness. that real life is like this. it's messy and chaotic and white people do ruin everything and sometimes "i'm sorry" isn't good enough, it's never good enough, but we all just walk around lying to each other saying we're fine and that's fine.
i don't have anything innovative to say! it's just a damn good book! and i will be revisiting in the future because it has so much incredible prose and the Point is Poignant. i could not put it down. i will be thinking about it for a long time.
this is a very dark book - it touches on some heavy topics, and overall there aren't a lot of positive scenes. it has flickers of light throughout, but a lot of it is unfair and a little hopeless and incredibly frustrating. but i think it's such a fantastic book because brandon taylor does not shy away from the darkness. the whole point of the book IS the darkness. that real life is like this. it's messy and chaotic and white people do ruin everything and sometimes "i'm sorry" isn't good enough, it's never good enough, but we all just walk around lying to each other saying we're fine and that's fine.
i don't have anything innovative to say! it's just a damn good book! and i will be revisiting in the future because it has so much incredible prose and the Point is Poignant. i could not put it down. i will be thinking about it for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
looneytunes's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Eating disorder
krisheiney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had to sit with this book for a few days before I could put down thoughts about it. I’m still not quite sure what I think about it.
Once I started reading, I could barely put the book down. I’m not sure what gave it such propulsion—maybe it was a hopeless seeking out of a point in the book where something good came Wallace’s way, after so much bad. Maybe it was something about Taylor’s writing, which casts a dark sheen on everything and lends an inherent tension to the book.
Despite this, I can’t say I enjoyed the book. It felt too heavy, too saturated with awful things. But I can also hardly criticize it for that, because putting all that awfulness on display was very much the point. And the powerful way Taylor puts words to the white characters’ unreciprocated expectation of empathy from Wallace, their thinking they’re being kind while dismissing Wallace’s personhood—that makes this book an important piece of the modern American cultural landscape.
Once I started reading, I could barely put the book down. I’m not sure what gave it such propulsion—maybe it was a hopeless seeking out of a point in the book where something good came Wallace’s way, after so much bad. Maybe it was something about Taylor’s writing, which casts a dark sheen on everything and lends an inherent tension to the book.
Despite this, I can’t say I enjoyed the book. It felt too heavy, too saturated with awful things. But I can also hardly criticize it for that, because putting all that awfulness on display was very much the point. And the powerful way Taylor puts words to the white characters’ unreciprocated expectation of empathy from Wallace, their thinking they’re being kind while dismissing Wallace’s personhood—that makes this book an important piece of the modern American cultural landscape.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
katdid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pretty sad and depressing book tbh. I had a real sense of dread while reading it. The narrative takes place over three days and coupled with the descriptions of the stifling weather it reads as v claustrophobic. Some of the content/situations put me in mind of <u>A Little Life</u> -- just, Wallace seems to expect that he'll be treated with sexual violence and not believe he's worth any more than that. I found him a frustrating character because he was so passive. I kind of felt ambivalent about the book until the final chapter which is pitch-perfect and makes (imo) everything hang together (but also more upsetting/devastating). It's a great study of how you gather people around you based on circumstances (in this case, graduate school) but how maybe they aren't really your people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Animal death
lexkoi's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
pandaaaaa14's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book hit me hard in the gut and continued to beat me up with every word, every page, and every chapter that I read.
"He wants to be not himself. He wants to be not depressed. He wants to be not anxious. He wants to be well. He wants to be good."
This!
This is what I say to myself everyday when I wake up, and every night when I try to sleep.
It's what I tell my friends, my therapist, and God.
To see Wallace express this exactly the way I do, just hurts. It's just 5 simple sentences. Yet the exhaustion they hold is unbearable.
Too many times Wallace reminded me of myself. In this one part, where one bad thing happened after the other, when people one after the other kept coming at him, telling him all that he's doing wrong, that he's not good enough, that he needs to stop, to leave, to do better... It gave me flashbacks of a time period I would rather not remember. I felt for Wallace, I felt it all and how badly I wanted to just hide him away, and keep him safe. Brandon Taylor was not kidding when he named this book Real Life. Shit was a bit too real lol.
Anyways, do have to give trigger warnings for child abuse, child grape/sa, and violence (in certain parts of the book).
"He wants to be not himself. He wants to be not depressed. He wants to be not anxious. He wants to be well. He wants to be good."
This!
This is what I say to myself everyday when I wake up, and every night when I try to sleep.
It's what I tell my friends, my therapist, and God.
To see Wallace express this exactly the way I do, just hurts. It's just 5 simple sentences. Yet the exhaustion they hold is unbearable.
Too many times Wallace reminded me of myself. In this one part, where one bad thing happened after the other, when people one after the other kept coming at him, telling him all that he's doing wrong, that he's not good enough, that he needs to stop, to leave, to do better... It gave me flashbacks of a time period I would rather not remember. I felt for Wallace, I felt it all and how badly I wanted to just hide him away, and keep him safe. Brandon Taylor was not kidding when he named this book Real Life. Shit was a bit too real lol.
Anyways, do have to give trigger warnings for child abuse, child grape/sa, and violence (in certain parts of the book).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
bookwormdystopian2's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault