‘Real Life’: Brandon Taylor
Source: Daunt Books Originals
Over the course of a weekend, post-grad biochemistry student Wallace must deal with the fallout of his suspiciously contaminated lab experiment, the death of his father and various tensions escalating within his friendship group. It is a straightforward premise, yet queer, black author Brandon Taylor’s semi-autobiographical debut injects this storyline with heartfelt sociological commentary without ever sounding didactic.
Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, Real Life (2020) is a refreshing take on the ‘campus novel’ genre. Drawing from his days as a former scientist, Taylor expertly weaves the examination of race and sexuality into protagonist Wallace’s everyday life, who is also black and gay. Where The Human Stain (Philip Roth, 2000), also explored the effects of racism in university environments, Taylor’s debut builds upon this theme with insights made possible only through personal experience.
Wallace’s complex characterisation is the strongest aspect of Real Life. His anxiety, depression and disordered eating demonstrate the quantifiable consequences of systemic, intersectional oppression often relegated to theoretical debate. Growing up, he feels out of place within his conservative family because of his sexuality, and as an adult, he struggles with his minority status yet again as the only black student in his doctoral program.
Taylor spotlights the contemporary dehumanisation of black people through a cynical lens; while Wallace is perceptive enough to know when he is being condescended to, he grimly accepts this as his unchangeable reality. When he voices his uncertainty at a gathering about remaining in the program, a non-black acquaintance scathingly reminds him he should be grateful, as he believes ‘prospects’ for black people without a degree are poor.
Crucially, Wallace’s shortcomings safeguard the novel from entering ‘preachy’ territory. Largely indifferent to the daily suffering of others, he judges his friend Miller for a past violent incident, exemplifying his myopic tendencies. It is Wallace’s flaws that implicate isolation as both a brutal consequence of his othering and a familiarity he at times invites. Wallace’s imperfections show us the effect of racism while letting us form our own conclusions.
Arresting prose threads the pages of Real Life together, imbuing scenes with a sense of presence. Balanced with Taylor’s knack for lively pacing, the outcome is an assured novel that finds the moments of tension within even the quietest of scenes. This is perhaps the greatest demonstration of what real life is: the obsessive analyses of conversations and behaviours that mislead us to wrong conclusions, and the failure to notice the glaring struggles of those closest to us.
Real Life is the kind of debut that makes the literary community take notice of its author. Brandon Taylor, it seems, is destined for great things.
