In a startling change of direction, cult favorite Tao Lin presents a dark and brooding tale of illicit love that is his most sophisticated and mesmerizing writing yet Richard Yates is named after real-life writer Richard Yates, but it has nothing to do with him. Instead, it tracks the rise and fall of an illicit affair between a very young writer and his even younger—in fact, under-aged—lover. As he seeks to balance work and love, she becomes more and more self-destructive in a play for his undivided attention. His guilt and anger builds in response until they find themselves hurtling out of control and afraid to let go. Lin's trademark minimalism takes on a new, sharp-edged suspense here, zeroing in on a lacerating narrative like never before—until it is almost, in fact, too late.   “Richard Yates is neither pretentious nor sneering nor reflexively hip . . . simply a focused, moving, and rather upsetting portrait of two oddballs in love.” —The Boston Globe   “The most intelligent and hilarious book I've read all year . . . crushingly sad . . . at some points, beautiful.” —Vice