Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

44 reviews

frankieclc's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

megpotter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never read a book quite like this. Taylor's prose is beautiful and visceral, and I feel like this will be a classic in the not to far off future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

ecn's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This book was very triggering and emotionally exhausting but the overall premise was interesting. Maybe not my thing? But I wanted more of an exploration than explicit trauma

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

hollieadaw's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

nigel_hakeem's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

What an amazing novel! Painted such a clear picture of life in academia and the pitfalls that come with it. What could have been a passable campus novel became so much more. The best parts of the book were when the main character, Wallace, was left to think and ruminate on his own. His thoughts about being black in a group of white friends, the small uncomfortable and unspoken moments that would quietly eat away at him were heartbreaking. I had to put the book down several times because of how angry I was at the people around him. Other parts were hard not to skip ahead because I wanted to know what was going to happen so badly.

Taylor changes tenses 3 times in the book and though this sounds like it would be confusing, it fits with the narrative really well and shows what a fantastic writer he is; and this is his debut!

I can't wait to read more from Brandon Taylor and this book is an instant classic. A must-read for anyone in grad school.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Vomit

nithya_natalya's review against another edition

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

4.25

I haven't read any literary fiction in a long time, but I was in search of something queer that wasn't written by a white person and also isn't YA. Although I don't tend to love literary fiction, this novel really resonated with me. Maybe it's because I'm getting ready to leave a job where I feel like white people are always expecting me to go above and beyond to prove I'm worthy of being in this position, but this book really gets at that lonely feeling, that sense of feeling outside yourself as you question everything. I wouldn't say there's a whole lot of queer joy in this book. There is a lot of pain in this book, tinged with hopefulness, but still. It can be a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

real life is an introspective, melancholically realistic read that's startlingly sublime and nuanced, and i quite liked it up until towards the end where my enjoyment unfortunately wanes for a few reasons.

this book masterfully captures the bone-deep exhaustion of a queer black man navigating adulthood who's been through - is still going through - a lot of shit, and flays open the world's bullshit for all to see. taylor offers a deep, skeptical exploration of the world of academia - and by extension the main character wallace's escape of his source of trauma - and asks: is this real life, a life spent in labs, cocooned from the outside world? is staying in one's comfort zone truly better than taking one's chances in harsh reality?

i enjoy the illustration of subtle maneuvering and socializing as well, how a person - specifically someone deemed a minority or different - has to be sacrified for the comfort of the greater group around both the literal and proverbial table. the microaggressions and sometimes overt racism endured by wallace are scream-inducing and infuriating, once again shedding light on the reality of black folks and how white ppl gonna white ppl, even the supposedly 'good' ones. most of the characters are also nuanced and multidimensional.

however, i find the writing to be a lil stiff at times esp in the beginning. the long soliloquys on birds and the like - even though i kinda get their symbolic significance - also annoy me, as they sometimes seem too out-of-the-blue and affect the pacing.

nevertheless, my personal dislike of the lack of character growth is what most affects the book's overall rating towards the end. i respect the author's decision and am aware that it'd be unrealistic for wallace to significantly develop or change in some way w/in the period of one friggin weekend. what bothers me actually isnt the lack of character development but the character's unwillingness to change - maybe even overt avoidance or active decision to self-destruct - despite being aware of his own faults, though to be fair it's perhaps a result of his trauma and family conditioning. still, too much has happened for there to not be any change, yet awareness might be the first step towards it. 

overall, this is a novel that subtly yet powerfully explores its themes, main character, and the world around him, esp in regards to racism and mental illness, though i personally would've liked more subtle interspersing of symbolism and more character development.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cancer, Vomit, and Abandonment

marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Absolute new fave. I'm here for societal critque and especially if it includes acedemia. And what a painful but beautiful book this was. Filled with rage, hurt, fear and indecision, it's nuanced and unapologetic and real. Immediately adding Taylor's other work to my tbr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Blood, and Dysphoria

thatnewgroove's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

isobel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Animal death and Vomit