From The Advocate magazine in partnership with Glad, this is LGBTQ and A.

I'm Jeffrey Masters, and let me be very clear.

If at the end of the year, you read any best of 2020 lists that do not include real

life the novel by Brandon Taylor, they are trash.

Trash, garbage, not recycling, other synonyms, you know I'm saying.

But in all seriousness, with Wallace, the main character in real life, we are gifted one

of the most compelling and original characters in recent memory.

When we meet Wallace, he's unhappy.

And same, but what will change that?

He contemplates leaving the grad program he's in where he's the only black person.

He contemplates the relationship with the straight-ish man he finds himself in.

He contemplates romantic relationships in general.

So what does he need to do? The answers aren't easy,

but in real life, the novel, just like in real life, real life, the answers never are.

So Brandon Taylor talks about all of that on the podcast today. Let's get to it. You know, this is not the typical queer character that we're used to reading about.

Yes, he's black, he's a scientist, but on top of that, he doesn't fit into the gay male

stereotype that's usually presented of gay men being

sex obsessed. Is that something that you want it to push back on? You know, I mean, I wouldn't

say push back on because I think that that is like gay men sort of feeling free to express their

sexuality or core people in general being able to express their sexuality is like really an important part of like liberation and feeling like you can you can do that without being

persecuted by the law. So I wouldn't say it's something that I wanted to push back on because I think

it is an important part of queer life. But I was interested in sort of telling a story that

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