‘Real Life’ by Brandon Taylor

Their class had been the first small one in quite some time, and the first in more than three decades to include a black person.

'Real Life' by Brandon Taylor follows the lives of Wallace and his friends, all of whom are working towards a biochemistry degree in a Midwestern city. With the exception of a few flashbacks, the entire story is condensed into a single weekend, from Friday evening to Monday morning at sunset.

Wallace is struggling with his life, with his graduate work, with his colleagues, with his friends, with his mental health. He feels that he never fits in, that no one understands him. He feels alone. And so he often keeps to himself.

This book was so good that it took me only a few days to finish it. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and rightly so. (I'd say it deserved the prize, but the winner, 'Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stuart, is one of my all-time favorites).

CW: racism, child abuse, rape, violence, eating disorders, depression