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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
3.75
i’m still trying to figure out where i land on short story collections, i’ve found them a bit more difficult to fall into but i’m also very new to them.
it's rare for the lives of characters to open up to the reader this honestly. this book is about working class black and latinx people in houston, tx and the way they get by with queerness at the center. i loved how exposed the narrative was, it didn't feel like Washington was trying to keep the reader guessing about the outcome of their lives or that this book is a linear plot line that ends exactly how you want it to. It felt wholly his, real, gritty. i enjoyed it a lot and am excited to check out memorial.
i’m still trying to figure out where i land on short story collections, i’ve found them a bit more difficult to fall into but i’m also very new to them.
it's rare for the lives of characters to open up to the reader this honestly. this book is about working class black and latinx people in houston, tx and the way they get by with queerness at the center. i loved how exposed the narrative was, it didn't feel like Washington was trying to keep the reader guessing about the outcome of their lives or that this book is a linear plot line that ends exactly how you want it to. It felt wholly his, real, gritty. i enjoyed it a lot and am excited to check out memorial.
Stories from the crevices of Houston that are still among my daily thoughts more than a week after reading. Hard to argue with that. Washington is telling untold tales here, stories from the margins and fringes, and he does so unflinchingly. It doesn't hurt for this reader that so many of the places are familiar. I've never seen Houston so clearly on the page, and I'm grateful for it.
This is as good a first collection as I have perhaps ever read, and I can hardly wait for what's next.
Sidebar: Watching the national reviews of this novel say things like "no cowboys" and "did you know Houston not only a big city but a diverse one?" made me super stabby.
This is as good a first collection as I have perhaps ever read, and I can hardly wait for what's next.
Sidebar: Watching the national reviews of this novel say things like "no cowboys" and "did you know Houston not only a big city but a diverse one?" made me super stabby.
This was a wonderful entertaining, irreverently humorous read. The text has a way of feeling alive, vital—like it has a rhythm and a pulse. In Huston’s inner city life overflows apartments, taquerias, bayous, and the streets. It’s textured and intimate, excessive and understated. It’s a really wonderful point of departure for thinking about class in America, and specifically Texas, how it gets produced and reproduced. It was also refreshing to read a novel that centers queerness. I will be doing more of that!
Helped me to see and understand a side of Houston that I don't think about very much. The boys/men who live in the margins, but with feelings and dreams and happiness. I want to drive around Houston and see these places myself.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A collection of stories mostly centered around gay POC in Houston.
Bryan Washington’s writing style is so close to conversation that reading this book felt like listening to an audiobook. His character’s voices are so clear in my head. He also doesn’t use quotation marks in this stories and I barely noticed.
Several of the stories here center around one family and we read their progression through a few decades, I believe, while also reading about other folks in other neighborhoods. It felt more cohesive to me than other short story collections. But some of the stories felt very similar to others.
Bryan Washington’s writing style is so close to conversation that reading this book felt like listening to an audiobook. His character’s voices are so clear in my head. He also doesn’t use quotation marks in this stories and I barely noticed.
Several of the stories here center around one family and we read their progression through a few decades, I believe, while also reading about other folks in other neighborhoods. It felt more cohesive to me than other short story collections. But some of the stories felt very similar to others.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is an emotional book. The writing flows nicely and I felt as though the characters were really "real"—down-to-earth—human beings with flaws. They were nuanced and I rooted for them. This book followed people living in Houston who are in the working class—about people who are not written about enough as main characters in popular books today.
For me, these characters are the people that the capitalist system of the United States tries to chew up and spit out, and how the people overcome adversity. I found it to be a somber read, but also realistic. As a restaurant employee, I enjoyed the stories that took place at the restaurant, and all the shenanigans and behind-the-scenes work that goes down at those kinds of workplaces. I also enjoyed the theme of found family throughout difficult times.
Even though this book was grim, it was nice to take a break from the current tough times of 2021 tough times to read about different tough times in the recent past. Bryan Washington's writing style is calming and refreshing. I usually am not a fan of excluding quotation marks, but I thought this book read quite nicely without them. I will be reading Bryan Washington's newer book Memorial later this year, I hope!
For me, these characters are the people that the capitalist system of the United States tries to chew up and spit out, and how the people overcome adversity. I found it to be a somber read, but also realistic. As a restaurant employee, I enjoyed the stories that took place at the restaurant, and all the shenanigans and behind-the-scenes work that goes down at those kinds of workplaces. I also enjoyed the theme of found family throughout difficult times.
Even though this book was grim, it was nice to take a break from the current tough times of 2021 tough times to read about different tough times in the recent past. Bryan Washington's writing style is calming and refreshing. I usually am not a fan of excluding quotation marks, but I thought this book read quite nicely without them. I will be reading Bryan Washington's newer book Memorial later this year, I hope!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes