Keeping people at a distance has long become a habit for Wallace. No, he's not a social phobe. It's just safer that way. He is the first black student in the biochemistry department at a Midwestern university in decades. And he's gay. He doesn’t fit into the local society at all, but he knows how to adapt. But does Wallace really want such a life? Over one summer weekend, his entire carefully ordered reality begins to gradually collapse, like dominoes. And clashes with colleagues, tension in a group of friends will suddenly reveal unexpected loyalties, hostility, aspirations, pain, fears and memories. Meet the debut, partly autobiographical and incredible novel-formation of Brandon Taylor, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2020. At the center of the story. Wallace, a black gay man, is pursuing a degree at Midwestern University. He is one of the few African-American students and is constantly faced with the fact that, despite the friendly façade of society, hostility and misunderstanding often seethe inside people. In just two summer days, Wallace's seemingly orderly life is turned upside down, revealing his insecurities, fears, doubts, aspirations and desires." Brandon Taylor's novel can easily be accused of opportunism, because its main character is a young black gay man who has survived violence as a child, and now as a student under pressure from the privileged members of a university environment. But please don't be so quick to roll your eyes when writing barbs about the "agenda." Real Life is a brilliant exploration of human loneliness in its precision and subtlety. Can people understand each other? Can they relieve someone else’s pain? Can Brandon Taylor talk about these universal topics, and this conversation is painful, confusing, but important - both for the author and for the readers.” – Sergey Vereskov