Real Life is a gut punch of a novel, a story that asks if it's ever really possible to overcome our private wounds and buried histories-and at what cost. Brandon Taylor is the author of Real Life, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and of the national bestseller Filthy Animals, for which he won The Story Prize and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. But a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with a young straight man, conspire to fracture his defenses, while revealing hidden currents of resentment and desire that threaten the equilibrium of their community. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends-some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. Almost everything about Wallace, an introverted African-American transplant from Alabama, is at odds with the lakeside Midwestern university town where he is working toward a biochem degree. Real Life by Brandon Taylor thoughts Hey all, I recently read Real Life by Brandon Taylor, and I wonder if anyone else had a similar reaction to me or a similar review: I felt like the way it ended was very abrupt: and some of the topics really veered into raw/visceral territory. Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. Brandon Taylor on falling in love with a writer for the first time and how close observation plays a role in his writing process. Real Life - by Brandon Taylor 21. : A novel of startling intimacy, violence, and mercy among friends in a Midwestern university town, from an electric new voice. A novel of rare emotional power that excavates the social intricacies of a late-summer weekend-and a lifetime of buried pain. Real Life author Brandon Taylor talks about his Booker Prize longlist nomination. A novel of startling intimacy, violence, and mercy among friends in a Midwestern university town, from an electric new voice.