I’ve never been an avid fan of young adult novels. Even before the genre was tainted with all the gooey chicklit novels and I was in my teenage years, I was just too nerdy and introverted – the YA stories and themes never spoke to me.
Yet I knew I had to read “In Real Life” by Lawrence Tabak. I was made aware of the book earlier this year, as it was introduced to me as a novel about young boy being passionate about video gaming and trying to make a life as a professional game in South Korea. For someone who’s StarCrafter at heart, it sounded like the perfect “getaway” read from my regular itinerary.
“In Real Life” acquaints us with Seth Gordon, a high school student, a math-wiz and a talented competitive gamer, playing a title called Starfare and while the latter is the name of an actual real game, its presentation in the book very much copies the scene of StarCraft.
Starfare is the focus of all of Seth’s ambitions: he not only wants to be the best in the USA, but also dreams about travelling to South Korea, where the cream of the crop of gamers live and compete. His passion about video gaming never quite cools off, even when we’re introduced to Hannah – the main female character and Seth’s first real girlfriend – and we get to see how our main character thinks and acts when he’s not engulfed in his gaming.
Before we move on, let’s get something straight about what “In Real Life” is. This is not about a novel just about video gaming or eSports. In fact, hardcore eSports fans might find it naïve or misrepresenting of the industry. It’s also exclusively about teenage life, a topic that would immediately bore, well, anyone who’s not currently in high school. Instead, the novel is a decent blend between “virtual” and “real” life and Tabak switches between the two often. Even though the transition is sometimes clumsy, it’s never really untimely and the reader won’t get stuck in one topic for too long.
"In Real Life" is a blend between “virtual” and “real” life and Tabak switches between the two often.
The general character outline is another one of novel’s positives and that’s once again because of the “can relate” factor. The way Seth and Hannah act together and by themselves brings out memories from our teenage years and even older readers who’ve been geeks in high school can associate with Seth and read along as he struggles with being unpopular, putting gaming first, going through a first relationship and obsessing with sex and fighting with the parental authorities about wasting his life playing games.
Hannah, on the other hand, is easy to fall in love with as a character. She’s the girl that makes friend – more than a friend – with a gaming geek, who’s charming and artistic and easy to hang out with. She’s also responsible for arguably the best part of the book, but more on that later.
Staying on the topic of characters, there’s a lot of stereotypes accompanying them and that gets a little dull at times. Tabak has only managed to draw the rough outlines, as if a single thing is supposed to define the entirety of them. There’s Seth the geek; Hannah, the girl who loves art; the big brother who’s all macho and fit; the divorced parents who disapprove of activities they don’t understand; the “emotionless” Koreans who look down on the white dude; that angry kid on the internet that takes everything super serious and writes in ALL CAPS. For some, this works because further development is not really necessary but for others – Seth and Hannah included – the lack of depth is almost unforgivable.
While Tabak doesn’t spend enough time to develop the characters, he also tries to do a lot, too much even, in the space it has. The novel makes frequent jumps between settings as it tries to put Seth in as many situations as possible. In under 300 pages, we see Seth going to school, playing Starfare and travelling to tournaments, meeting girls, working in a pizza place, arguing with his parents, going to Korea and doing all kinds of stuff there as well. Many of those episodes are rushed and disconnected from the main story, making me think what would’ve happened if these pages were used for something else. If your space is scarce, why waste it telling irrelevant stories?
The novel tries to do too much for the space it has.
Another problem with the storytelling is the reasoning behind why certain events happen and in many cases, they happen because they have to, so that the plot can advance. A prime example is Seth’s trip to Korea – this youngster who’s been hitting a brick wall all his life trying to explain what progaming is to his folk suddenly gets the greenlight to travel halfway across the world. He’s to live, work, train and learn from people who barely speak English, all while finishing the remainder of his school hours online. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t imagine letting my kid do that, and I bloody work in eSports…
Of course, “In Real Life” is not all bad, though the last paragraphs may lead you to think that. Going back to Hannah’s character and how it carries a lot of novel, her relationship with Seth is the most detached thing from eSports but ironically is the most accurately described thing in the entire book. The 150 or so pages describing the dynamics between the two light up the novel. The switching between the tangible and virtual passions of Seth there is the strongest point of “In Real Life”. Though several reviewers find Seth to be particularly unlikable in these moments, this relationship trims away the bullshit and speaks to the reader with honesty.
In conclusion, “In Real Life” is not the be all and end all of contemporary young adult fiction. On many occasions, Tabak sounds naïve and clueless, as a 40 year-old trying to be hip and talk about the things his kids enjoy. There are a lot of flaws in the novel – from the characters to the imperfect storytelling – but there is a lot of charm in it as well. If you don’t get picky about eSports facts, details or terminology or don’t dissect it to its literary components, you’ll have a good time reading it.
To sum it all up – if you’re living and breathing eSports, you better stay away, this is not the book for you. If you’re a budding gamer or a parent of one, however, give it a go. It’s still better spent hours than the umpteenth Call of Duty session.
