Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

It's the epitome of literary fiction, and I'm totally down for that. But it's a bit too thin for a novel and would have made a better short story. I was much more interested in Wallace's work in the lab and the dramas he encountered there with the other students. His and Miller's romantic drama was less compelling and their conversations felt repetitive and talking for the sake of talking, which, in turn, felt like Taylor was adding conversations for length, not character development or the forwarding of the story.

Also, it takes place in Madison, but Taylor never names the town. I spent the first quarter of the book second-guessing myself and asking, "Wait, is it actually Univ. of Michigan? Or Minnesota? No, it's Madison...right?" And I went to school at UW, so this just drove me nuts and felt unnecessary. I imagine Taylor had a reason for doing this, but I found it super distracting.

The ending was spot-on, though it would have been stronger (IMO) if we'd gotten one more day in the lab. Why not have Wallace go there in the morning so we get a bit more from the Karens he works with (such Karens)? The ending would have been even stronger.

Taylor is a skilled writer and I'll read his next novel. I hope it's better developed than this one.