{"title":"Brandon Taylor","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of \u003cstrong\u003eBrandon Taylor\u003c\/strong\u003e, an acclaimed author whose work delves deep into the intricacies of modern life. Known for his profound storytelling and incisive explorations of human relationships, Taylor has quickly established himself as a significant voice in contemporary literature. His works invite readers to reflect on the complexities of identity, intimacy, and belonging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong his celebrated works is the short story collection \u003cem\u003eFilthy Animals\u003c\/em\u003e, which weaves together narratives of people seeking connection and grappling with their deeper impulses. In \u003cem\u003eReal Life\u003c\/em\u003e, Taylor offers a compelling portrait of a gay Black student navigating the subtle tensions and emotional landscapes of a predominantly white, midwestern university. This novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, marking Taylor's undeniable impact on literary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe journey continues with \u003cem\u003eThe Late Americans\u003c\/em\u003e, a novel that masterfully captures the experiences of a group of students and artists as they confront life's inequalities and personal truths. \u003cem\u003eMake It Modern\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMinor Black Figures\u003c\/em\u003e are further testaments to Taylor's ability to articulate the unspoken nuances of life, anchoring themselves in the realms of Arts \u0026amp; Culture and General Fiction respectively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBrandon Taylor's books are an essential addition for anyone passionate about stories that challenge and resonate. Dive into his works and explore narratives that are as thought-provoking as they are beautifully crafted.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-late-americans","title":"The Late Americans","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrandon Taylor, the acclaimed author of the Booker-shortlisted \u003cem\u003eReal Life\u003c\/em\u003e, returns with a deeply resonant novel that delves into the complexities of young adulthood. \u003cem\u003eThe Late Americans\u003c\/em\u003e captures the lives of a group of friends - Seamus, Fyodor, Ivan, Noah, and Fatima - as they navigate the turbulent waters of self-discovery and connection in a contemporary university town.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the story, each character grapples with their aspirations and limitations, while seeking meaning and fulfilment in their lives. Seamus, an aspiring novelist, feels the weight of his ambition clashing with the reality of his talents. Fyodor, a dancer, struggles with the demands of his physical art form and the search for personal expression. Ivan, a musician, lives in the shadow of familial expectations, torn between tradition and innovation. Noah and Fatima, both poets, reflect on love, creativity, and the bonds that tie them to each other and to their art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs the friends test their own desires in a series of relationships, they confront profound questions about the nature of true connection in an age marked by uncertainty and transience. What is the right thing to stake a life on - work, love, money, dance, poetry? Can one find authentic connection amidst the precariousness of modern life?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Late Americans\u003c\/em\u003e, Taylor crafts an astutely observed, deeply involving narrative that captures the tensions of youth and the poignant beauty of finding one’s place in a shifting world. Through lyrical prose and incisive character studies, the novel explores the intricacies of friendship, ambition, and what it means to be young and striving in the 21st century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45692422652140,"sku":"9781529922073","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529922073.jpg?v=1725562474"},{"product_id":"filthy-animals-by-brandon-taylor-9781911547983","title":"Filthy Animals","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the series of linked stories at the heart of \u003cem\u003eFilthy Animals\u003c\/em\u003e, set among young adults in the American Midwest, a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night; a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink; and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort, and cruelty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46530456551660,"sku":"9781911547983","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16234113482868.jpg?v=1749258058"},{"product_id":"real-life-by-brandon-taylor-9781911547747","title":"Real Life","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eReal Life\u003c\/em\u003e follows Wallace, who has spent his summer in the lab breeding a strain of microscopic worms—a slow and painstaking process. He is four years into a biochemistry degree at a lakeside Midwestern university, living a life that feels a world away from his childhood in Alabama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough his father died a few weeks ago, Wallace has neither gone back home nor told his friends—Miller, Yngve, Cole, and Emma. To protect himself, he has grown accustomed to maintaining a wary distance, even from those closest to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver one blustery end-of-summer weekend, a catastrophic mishap and a series of intense confrontations compel Wallace to confront intimacy, desire, the trauma of his past, and the question of his future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46532623499500,"sku":"9781911547747","price":23.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/16231753482868.jpg?v=1749321223"},{"product_id":"minor-black-figures-by-brandon-taylor-9781787336438","title":"Minor Black Figures","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver a hot summer in New York, a painter falls for a priest in this captivating modern love story from the Booker-Prize shortlisted Brandon Taylor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMinor Black Figures\u003c\/em\u003e is a story set over a hot New York summer, where Wyeth, a young Black painter, finds himself trying to carve out a space within Manhattan's contemporary art scene. Sharing a studio with friends, he ekes out a living working for a gallery and an art restorer. Despite these efforts, Wyeth struggles with his portrait painting, unable to capture the essence of his subjects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen Wyeth encounters Keating, a white former priest wrestling with his faith. Despite their apparent differences, Keating helps Wyeth to perceive the world in a different light. As the summer unfolds, filled with gallery openings and city wanderings, Wyeth searches for a long-lost Black artist while growing closer to Keating. Their burgeoning connection forces them to confront the disparities between them, leading Wyeth and Keating to a pivotal decision about what they are willing to risk for art and for love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis page-turning New York novel, a sweeping modern romance, offers a tender and involving portrait of loneliness and connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"One of the most accomplished, important novelists of his generation\" – \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"A piercing, precise, and affecting tale of young love and high art\" – \u003cem\u003eKirkus\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Brandon Taylor is without a doubt our laureate of hyper-intelligent yearning – nobody does it better\" – \u003cem\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for Brandon Taylor:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Taylor has both a classic sensibility, expansive and elegant, and a razor-sharp ability to speak to the contemporary moment\" – Emma Cline\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"A writer of rare daring, his fiction a series of revelations\" – Katie Kitamura\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"The moment-to-moment pleasures of Taylor's prose are such that you simultaneously cannot wait to see where he takes you next while being happy for him to take you anywhere\" – Colin Barrett\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853274992876,"sku":"9781787336438","price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/0c679ecfbc645701ac62f1e64431690f.jpg?v=1759260878"},{"product_id":"make-it-modern-by-brandon-taylor-9780300253658","title":"Make It Modern","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fascinating journey through Western art from the 1910s to the 1960s, charting how artists wrestled with the headlong changes of a turbulent and conflict-ridden world\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the chaos of the First World War to the ravages of the Second, from the Great Depression to the rise of consumer culture, artists we call “modern” faced the challenge of responding imaginatively to utterly new circumstances of life. Original thought, startling artistic techniques, and new attitudes to experimentation were required to produce exceptional and timely work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMake It Modern\u003c\/i\u003e guides the reader through the art of the modern world. Works of celebrated artists, from Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky to Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, and Yayoi Kusama, alongside a panoply of undervalued or less-known figures, populate this decade-by-decade narrative. \u003ci\u003eMake It Modern\u003c\/i\u003e tells an unforgettable story of how art was changed forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47340907987180,"sku":"9780300253658","price":83.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7d09fdcfeab127ecc35a740750096ea9.jpg?v=1772190635"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/brandon-taylor.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}