Real Life
2020 · literary fiction · adult
"A novel of rare emotional power that excavates the social intricacies of a late-summer weekend -- and a lifetime of buried pain. 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. 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. 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"--
Set in
- ★Madison, Wisconsin · United States★ primaryMadison, Wisconsin (unnamed); Black graduate student navigating a white university
- ★Madison · United States★ primaryUnnamed lakeside Midwestern university modelled on University of Wisconsin-Madison where author Brandon Taylor did his P
