Tao Lin is a divisive author. With a style that blends authentic simplicity with descriptions that beg to be examined further, it's not hard to see why Lin is generating interest.

Lin's latest novel, Richard Yates, is one that's difficult to find in bookstores due to its title — you may end up with a copy of Revolutionary Road in hand. The book is a semi-autobiographical and very modern story revealed through a minimalist discourse of deadpan and Gmail chat.

Richard Yates revolves around a protagonist named Haley Joel Osment and his companion, Dakota Fanning. While the name choices for this novel may seem distracting for some, Lin has explained his choices in interviews, saying it seemed like the names of the people in the book didn't really matter, that they would only serve as titles for the actions and interactions between the characters.

It seems fitting that the specificity of a name would be left to the reader's interpretation, as most of Lin's work is shrouded in an elusive quality which causes the reader to re-think what is actually happening within the subtext of the story. Underlying the seemingly shallow trips to Whole Foods and iPod playlists is a truly vicious, scathing and disturbing story of a bleak exchange of power between two people, callous selfishness and ultimately is painfully reflective of a generation of grown children staring back at themselves bathed in the glow of a computer screen.

Past works of Tao Lin include the critically successful Shoplifting From American Apparel, Eeeee Eee Eeee and the poetry collections Bed and you are a little bit happier than i am, all published by Melville House.

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