Real Life by Brandon Taylor
In his first, partially autobiographical novel, Real Life, Brandon Taylor has crafted a unique and personal piece of writing that contemplates a wide variety of complicated and relevant social topics while following Wallace as he maneuvers through an emotionally intense late-summer weekend. Wallace, born and raised in Alabama, is a gay, black PhD candidate studying biochemistry at a Midwestern university with mostly white students and faculty. Wallace grapples with racism, sexism, homophobia, childhood memories, grief, relationship problems, friend group tension, and educational pressures, all while trying to figure out what he wants his real life to look like. From the very start of this modern, coming-of-age campus novel, it’s clear that Wallace feels out of place, and is struggling to figure out who he wants to become, as well as come to terms with who he already is.
Real Life was a great choice for the Booker Prize shortlist. Taylor has an interesting and contemporary writing style that feels casual, and this fits the novel. Though it is written in third person, the voice of the narrator helps the reader feel much closer to Wallace. It’s probably no coincidence that Taylor’s writing style brings life to Wallace, considering Wallace’s experiences are somewhat based on Taylor’s. However, I did not find his writing style as refined or enjoyable to read as Douglas Stuart’s in Shuggie Bain or Tsitsi Dangarembga’s in This Mournable Body. To be fair to Taylor, he is significantly younger than both Stuart and Dangarembga, and I have no doubts that Taylor will improve with each novel and with age. My main issue with Taylor’s writing style is that, sometimes, his sentences are choppy and confusing. This happens especially during passages of reflection or during the use of metaphor. On occasion, certain passages were unclear, which disrupted the flow of the novel. Stuart had a great talent for switching between the present and reflection in Shuggie Bain, and his metaphors were clear and added to the passages they were used in. Dangarembga tended to use very abstract metaphors and imagery in her book, which could certainly be confusing at times, however, I believe that she purposefully created these moments of confusion to allow the reader to feel as lost and mystified as Tambu herself.
Real Life is extremely unique, which is both a positive and negative thing in terms of prizewinning. A unique story or characters make a book stand out against a sea of stereotypical and predictable plots, protagonists, and antagonists. Wallace is true individual, and the predicaments he faces and memories he reminisces on throughout the book are not easily anticipated. The reader gets to learn about Wallace slowly and experience him opening up alongside him. I think the time frame of the novel, taking place over a single weekend, also helps to differentiate the novel. These factors likely influenced the Booker Prize judges to select this novel for the shortlist. I also think that the novel being so unique, to the point that it could be considered “niche,” likely influenced the judges to not select Real Life as the Booker Prize winner.
In an interview with Sam Sanders for NPR, Taylor explained that whenever he writes, he is writing for his “two queer Black friends…and trying to write things that will make them not just feel represented, but will make them…feel something or things that they will understand or be engaged by…I’m not writing to a demographic” (NPR 2021). While Shuggie Bain was a very personal story (and likely mirrored some of Stuart’s personal experiences), I felt that the characters, events, themes, and topics covered in Shuggie Bain were more accessible to a wider group of people. I feel the same about This Mournable Body. I think the main reason those books were more accessible than Real Life is because they were more politically based. Shuggie, Tambu, and their close acquaintances and family were the main characters of their novels, but it felt like the books were about Scotland, Zimbabwe, and sometimes even society in general just as much as they were about the specific characters. Real Life, on the other hand, was zoomed in on a very specific group of friends and their individual struggles and close relationships with one another. As Taylor himself said, he’s not writing for a large audience, but rather for his close friends. I personally do not think this makes the book any worse than the other two, but I think it made it less likely to win the Booker Prize.
The final reason I believe Real Life was selected for the Booker prize shortlist is due to the social issues, overarching themes, and profound questions about growing up and being a human that the book engages with. Real Life doesn’t just discuss race, gender, and sexuality but delves into complex and often under-discussed issues related to intersectionality. The book deeply analyzes relationships, both romantic and platonic, and the ways in which they shape us. Wallace’s continuous struggle with accepting his past experiences and determining what real life is to him adds depth to the novel, allowing it to discuss societal issues while remaining close-up and personal.
I will add that I think the sexual content in Real Life may have prevented it from being chosen as the winner of the Booker Prize. Shuggie Bain, This Mournable Body, and Real Life all contained graphic, disturbing, and violent sexual content, specifically rape. However, in my opinion, Real Life used more description of sexual content than either of the other two books. Shuggie Bain had possibly equal instances of discussing sexual assault and molestation as Real Life, but far less words and sentences were used to describe it. In This Mournable Body, Tambu herself has no sexual experiences (positive or negative) and therefore only describes others experiences with far less and more distanced detail. I have mixed feelings about rape and sexual assault scenes in books. They are extremely unpleasant and upsetting to read, so I feel that they should only be included when absolutely necessary to the plot or the reader’s understanding of a character. When they must be included, I prefer when limited descriptions are used, and the language is emotionally oriented instead of physically descriptive. Of course, this is just my opinion, but I do think this could have influenced the judge’s decision when awarding the prize.
Overall, Real Life was an interesting and intense novel. I believe it was deserving of a place on the Booker Prize shortlist, but I agree with the judge’s decision to award first place to Douglas Stuart.
Works Cited
Sanders, Sam. “Brandon Taylor Wrote ‘Real Life’ and ‘Filthy Animals’ for His Queer, Black Friends.”
NPR, NPR, 21 Sept. 2021, https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1036930975.
