The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

It's hard to like the young people portrayed in this novel, on the cusp of adulthood and maturity and, presumably, trying to work out who they are and what they want from life.

They seem to lead slightly squalid and oddly promiscuous lives in untidy and dirty places. Their personalities seem untidy and unravelled as well. Sometimes, we sense that their upbringings are to blame but they still spend a great deal of time introspecting, having sex with the wrong people and messing up their studies.

Seamus is a frustrated and angry poet. He takes his own failings out on his literary class and although his criticisms are pertinent he has little to offer apart from being destructive. He has a part-time relationship with Oliver and works in a hospice kitchen. He isn't good at either of those things! He has casual gay sex with people he doesn't seem to like.

Fyodor, who Seamus meets in a bar, lives with Timo but neither of them seem happy although they can't seem to manage to break up either. Ivan, Noah and Fatima are not any happier.

None of them are content in their own skins. They have aches and pains, pimples and scabs in odd places and they smell. They have pained or non-existent relationships with their parents, who are typically dysfunctional.

Parts of the novel are quite funny. It is easy to understand why Seamus cannot stand the women in his seminar group and their confessional meanderings engineered into poetry. The reactions of the other members of this loose group to Ivan's adventures in the porn industry underline how underneath they are the next generation of an American middle class not at all at ease with itself. At the end of the novel they are mostly moving on but without much enthusiasm.

The redeeming feature of the novel is its sense of realism in both characters and settings. The charmless university staff are a good example, pontificating, self-referencing and, on occasions, groping their students.

All in all, it’s a tough read!

DNF at 58%

I struggled to connect with the characters and keep track of who was who because we jump around a fair bit. Read like interconnected stories which does sometimes work for me but sadly not on this occasion.

Given one star due to DNF as I have to leave a star rating.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you NetGalley.

I am firmly in the middle on this one. I absolutely love Brandon Taylor's writing style. Like Real Life, this book is written so beautifully and carefully. It's so moving and Taylor does such a good job at forcing you to really feel the pain of his characters. I feel like The Late Americans does a good job of exploring wealth, isolation and class and race divisions. However the plot fell flat for me. I kind of didn't really understand the connections between the characters, their stories never really came together ultimately in any way that was satisfying. And nothing really happened. Not that I mind that in a novel, I love a lot of lit fic where there's an absence of plot. But The Late Americans felt like there were plot points dropped and then never picked back up. I do get that it's supposed to be cynical and nihilistic but I felt like the book didn't really go anywhere or reach any crescendo. Maybe it just got me down that all the characters were and remained miserable? I don't know! But there's no doubt Brandon Taylor is a talent and very accomplished already. I would still read whatever he puts out next for sure.

Stunning!! Extremely compelling, honest, true characters, beautiful writing - he just gets better and better with each book. Wanted to read it again from the beginning as soon as I finished it.

The Late Americans is Brandon Taylor’s sophomore novel. Set in a campus town, it reads like an anthology of short stories with the characters appearing in other chapters as the friend, the classmate, the lover etc.

Taylor’s writing continues in the style of Real Life. It is detached, observant and will drop the most heartbreaking and insightful insights on you throughout.

I found The Late Americans realistic and pensive. I wished we had two chapters from less characters, I think getting two chapters of the Seamus storyline made for a more satisfying story. I would have liked to hear more from Fyodor and Daw in particular.

Would make a good pick club pick because it is so rich in themes.

Pick up this book up if: you like short stories, character portraits and introspection

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book really captivated me with its dynamic portrayal of young lives at a Midwest college campus. The characters are flawlessly brought to life with expertly crafted dialogue that rings true to the natural flow of everyday conversations. Taylor masterfully delves into the complexities of residual generational guilt, self-discovery, and toxic co-dependency, infusing his narrative with insightful, provocative themes.

While the book may appear to be a collection of short stories at first, Taylor's outstanding ability to spin a web of connections that link all these diverse, vibrantly fleshed-out characters creates a delightful, cohesive experience for readers. Experiencing the unfolding of the connections between characters—are you asking yourself how Seamus connects with Noah? Or how Goran intertwines with Olafur, Timo, and Ivan?—is akin to participating in a fun game.

The only part that didn't resonate as strongly with me was the character of the lonely swimming instructor observing the other characters from afar, but this is a minor point in an otherwise dynamic and nuanced portrait.

The Late Americans is an intricately woven novel that moves fluidly between a large cast of characters, primarily focusing on gay arts graduate students. While it's not driven by a pivotal plot, its stories inspire an array of questions about aspirations in an ever demanding, overexposed society. Taylor's haunting metaphor for the characters' experience echoes long after the novel's conclusion: "It was like living in a museum exhibit or a dollhouse. It was so easy to imagine the hands of some enormous and indifferent God prying the house open and squinting at them as they went about their lives on their circuits like little automatons in an exhibit called The Late Americans."

Delighted to have had an opportunity to read this ARC. Thanks #Netgalley and @VintageBooks

For me, The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor, has been mis-sold as a novel, and would have been better published as a series of short stories. As I moved on from each chapter, I was saddened to find that I was now being introduced to new people with only a fleeting connection to those I'd previously read about. I also found the chapters overly long, and struggled to maintain interest. It is perhaps the case that this novel is not for my demographic - mid 40's white female - and that other people will get much more from it.

I admire Brandon Taylor's writing and this new novel did not disappoint on that score. However overall I struggled with it finding the story uneven. While the early characters particularly Seamus were well drawn I couldn't say the same about the later characters. Maybe it needed to be longer to fully explore all the characters and make satisfying linkages between their stories








Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

I loved this. Brandon Taylor weaves together multiple shifting lives of young queer people in Iowa, exposing their complex and interwoven relationships as they navigate life, class, sex, art and their futures.
Mostly about the struggles and relationships between a group of students in Iowa, they are conflicted about partners, careers, social classes, and experiences. The group are mostly in the arts and follows as they worry about losing their talents and us vs them is a common theme.
The dialogue and observations in the novel are great although the characters definitely take themselves too seriously, but it works well.
Taylor's writing is beautiful, succinct and impactful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for the ARC

PR Gifted from @vintagebooks via @netgalley
I liked the writing, but struggled to believe the group would be so interwoven. It’s about a group of people (students, lecturers, partners etc) in and around a university in Iowa. Most of them are poets/dancers and nearing graduation. What I did like was the level of uncertainty each person faces around their future at this time of their life. I found the repetitive detail on various couplings heavy and wondered did the novel need it all. There are various topics covered in the novel, one of the main ones being capitalism, and how parental support impacts on life choices. Racism is mentioned several times, but I found it hard to understand the backgrounds of the various characters, and thus got confused when an issue arose.
I did enjoy the writing, so I would be encouraged to read another of the author’s books, but not sure I’d recommend this book to any of my friends, although I’m sure there will be many literary fans that will enjoy this.

An interesting way of weaving the stories of this group, interlinked but distinct. Another review commented that it felt like a group of connected short stories and I agree with that. It's full of the bleak day to day, handled in such a strikingly real way. It spoke so well to that time where you're about to start out in the world. Everything feels important and tense and oddly suspended. The prose is where this really shines, absolutely gorgeous.

I cannot deny that this book was well-written, the descriptions were immersive and full of life, and I did enjoy seeing how the characters integrated through each of the different chapters and connections. There just was something that I could not fully click with in the book, whilst I did enjoy it, it wasn’t one of my most favourite reads this year, but I would like to read more from this author based on their writing style.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This book was, for me, a bit of a slog which never really got its act together enough to be cohesive. There are a LOT of characters which we are introduced to en masse and, even armed with my handy note pad, I never really got to grips with all of them. Maybe it was also the fact that the story was interconnecting them so much that, being challenged in that respect, I really didn't have much of a chance.
That said, I did get through it, mainly cos I occasionally like to challenge myself as a reader rather than just keeping to the same old. Maybe part of me wishes that I would have got to an epiphany moment which would have cemented my relationship with the book, the stories, and the characters.
What I can say is that it is a brutal and honest depiction of life and that in itself also makes the book rather heavy and sad. It also includes pretty much every bad thing possible - did the author have a check list? So I would recommend care be taken if you are sensitive to any of the big stuff. I am not going to list them cos I don't believe in spelling out.
All in all, I am glad I finished the book and I don't consider my time wasted at all. It just wasn't the book for me and that's perfectly fine...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Late Americans is essentially a collection of nine short(ish) pen portraits of various residents of Iowa City. Most are students at the university, most are gay men of colour. They consider their various relationships with one another; introspect on the meaning of life and generally don't do much except shag one another. It is pretty much plotless and devoid of character development. The reader hopes it will all come together at the end - but it doesn't.

If I had to make a comparison, I would describe this as an LGBTQIA+ version of Sally Rooney's Normal People. It may appeal to those who find themselves among the cast, but most of us look back on our student days with a slight sense of horror that we were so up ourselves. Students are not interesting. Especially when they are creative writing students who pontificate on the meaning of poetry.

Pretty much this was a dull read that will soon be forgotten. I couldn't even really remember all then characters even as they danced for my pleasure. Brandon Taylor kept dripping in some reference to a previous section and you'd think "oh yes, that's right, Timo is a vegetarian" or something similar. And I couldn't be annoyed to remember which of them were rich with trust funds and which were poor.

The sex, by the way, is repetitive. Art imitating life, I suppose.

As a novel this is a somewhat frustrating book, with no real plot and a spotlight that briefly shines on characters only to drop them as the focus shifts. However, it is beautiful when taken as a collection of interconnected vignettes portraying graduate students (and others in their lives) trying to navigate difference and identity and purpose at a liminal stage in their lives.

This was my first experience of Taylor's writing, and I loved the style of narration — although at least for me the dialogue was all so similar that it (and the large cast who popped in and out of the story) made it hard for me to distinguish one character from another, at times. The stories were fully embodied, and I felt viscerally the frustration, tension, loneliness, and threats of violence throughout the book. This made it uncomfortable when (as happened often) I was frustrated with how the characters related to each other, but it also made a strong overall impression on me, leaving me not with a definitive story but a sense of sharing these young people's experiences as they tried to find their place in the world.

I loved this book. Brandon Taylor weaves together the multiple shifting lives of young queer people in Iowa, defly exposing their flaws, hopes and complex relationships as they navigate what it means to make art, class, sex and their uncertain futures. Think Henry James meets Sally Rooney.

This novel is about the struggles and relationships between a group of students in Iowa. They are conflicted about there chosen partners and careers and the differences in social classes, life experiences and prejudices between them. The novel is also political and Marx is mentioned more than once. The group are largely in the arts and the us (bourgeoisie) vs them (the workers) is a common theme. They also worry about their talent and losing their edge.

The dialogue and observations in the novel are often hilarious and whilst the characters often take themselves too seriously the acerbic responses and repartee are very droll.

With thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage for a review copy.

👬 REVIEW 👬

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

UK Release: 22nd June 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Late Americans follows a loose group of graduate students in Iowa City, delving into their relationships and conflicts. The first half can almost be read as short stories, focusing on one character at a time and their connections to those around them.

I would definitely recommend you to add this to your TBR and pick it up come June 22nd (it’s out already in the US!).

This was very different to what I had imagined, having never read any of Brandon Taylor’s work (Real Life and Filthy Animals on my TBR). Taylor’s writing has such a reflective almost understated quality, yet he still manages to create such vivid characters and create brilliant tension throughout. These characters are not always loveable, but they’re cuttingly real, with deep flaws and quirks. My only qualm was a personal one in times when things got slightly too philosophical and pulled a bit away from the characters themselves, but overall a very good read.

(Also I love the cover of this, especially having read the book and seeing it as the connections made between people throughout)

The first Brandon Taylor for me and really excited to read his previous works. There were so many beautiful quotes, but here is one that made me feel so many things:
‘ So they went on smiling, and then they were laughing at their table in the corner, while it rained and grew cold and the café grew loud and then warm and then empty, and the whole world, the whole procession of its events marched on without a single notice or care that there in their tiny, obscure particle of the galaxy, two people's hearts were breaking over and over again.’

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor follows a circle of lovers and friends in a university town. Most are artists of some kind, be it poets or musicians or dancers, but it's not just their vocations and geographical location that ties them together -- each character navigates complicated relationships, trauma, and identity.

I liked how each chapter connects with the others almost indirectly. As you're reading, it feels less like a conventional narrative structure, but more like following a circling and meandering thread. Which each chapter reads like a short story, focused on one particular character at a time, the whole novel explores themes of class, wealth, race, gender, and generational differences and inequalities. There are beautiful passages of prose, and each character feels fleshed out and three-dimensional, despite having little time in the spotlight of the plot, however I felt their narrative voices were a little too similar and needed more distinction from one another. I also wanted more attention given to the two female characters, Fatima and Bea, who are especially disconnected from the other characters and their social environment as a whole, and feel a little more shoe-horned in because of that disconnect.

I would definitely read more of Brandon Taylor's work, and I recommend The Late Americans to anyone who love character-driven narratives and short story collections.