Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Memorial by Bryan Washington

46 reviews

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

One hand I thought the fact this cast is basically entirely people of color (and at least all the characters of note are not white) and their problems don’t stem from racism was very refreshing. However the emotional repression and emotionally stunt aspects of the characters and just how miserable they are (though the writing is very good) both made the book very refreshing in some aspects while frustrating in others. 

Also one hand the two men the book is in the perspective of grew up in hostile environments and the main cast is their families so it could just be what they would find normalized but it was difficult to tell of the novel took domestic violence seriously especially violence involving throwing things? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Death, Cursing, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Classism, Body shaming, and Abandonment

emmelinelc's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Abandonment, Racism, and Sexual content

kirani's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Cancer, Cursing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Fatphobia, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Body shaming, Racial slurs, and Classism

hmbk's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Sexual content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Torture, Body shaming, Grief, and Violence

armontheroad's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

MEMORIAL is a book that has been on my radar for quite some time. When I found a copy of it at my local indie bookstore, I knew right away I had to have it. This is a book I can definitely see people not liking due to a lack of understanding of what exactly Bryan Washington was going for. However, this 100% worked for me!! At its core, this is a story about messy relationships. Yes, there is the discussion of messy romantic and sexual relationships, but that is not all this book is about. There are also messy family dynamics, specifically the conversations revolve around what it means to be a queer son of color and the way your relationship with your dad changes because of this. As a Puerto Rican queer trans man with my own messy familial dynamic, the conversations in this book were so deeply impactful that I spent a solid 30 minutes sobbing between chapters. I can understand why this didn’t work for everyone, but by god, I read this at the exact time I needed it and I will forever be grateful to Bryan Washington for such an incredible piece!! I need to get my hands on anything he has written and I hope that if you give this book a try, you can appreciate it just as much as I did. If we’re mutuals and you’ve read this, please feel free to message me about it!!

CWs that I can't link below: death from cancer, gentrification, being HIV+. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Racism, Racial slurs, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Cancer, Grief, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Car accident and Transphobia

hollieadaw's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Cancer

Minor: Abandonment

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

memorial is an original, funny, and bittersweet book abt family, love and pain, whose second section sees washington achieve a rare feat of a western author writing like a japanese one - in that particular 'vignettes of life's small yet huge moments' way.

the characters are deeply - some surprisingly - flawed and layered; there's no 'good' ppl here bc everyone's fcked up in one way or another. im a lil amazed at how washington handles the characterization and adeptly shows how everyone's been on both sides of being hurt and doing the hurting.

in addition to being quite funny - mike's and ben's parents are bemusingly acerbic and surprising - this book's also got a lot of heart, esp in regards to its theme of family, w/ mike and eiju's complex relationship being a particularly heartrending one. a sense of melancholy and bittersweetness permeates throughout the aforementioned second section, evoking the slice-of-life quality often found in jpn lit. i view this as a great accomplishment as it's sth so rarely achieved in western lit, let alone by a man from texas. the importance and prevalent presence of food in the story is also sth i rly like, calming while acting as a bridge between the characters, while also displaying washington's deep knowledge of jpn culinary culture.

i enjoy this book for its acerbic humor, messy characters, melancholic tone, and the exploration of its themes, particularly that in this life, everyone - even ur seemingly perfect parents - is just winging it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

nicolepaul_ine's review against another edition

funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Homophobia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Racism

mxbenjaminrose's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is such a tender, melancholy novel from start to finish. I'm not sure why the publisher's blurb calls it a "funny, sexy, dramedy" -- it's a somber and at times sweet reflection on generational trauma, vulnerability, and discovering what it means to find home when the cards you're dealt are stacked against you. The characters are so real and multifaceted, and intensely flawed.

Washington handles parent-child relationships, romantic/sexual partnerships, and even professional relationships with insight and gentleness. I don't think there's a single relationship with completely healthy communication, but how many of us can say the same about our own families? Mitsuki and Ahmad are the sweetest and my favorites of the ensemble. 

The main characters, Benson and Mike, have a deeply unhealthy relationship dynamic, which is enthralling but hard to read. It's a weird feeling to read a not-quite-romance novel with two POVs and be deeply rooting for each of them, but not rooting for them to be together. 

All in all, this is a unique, emotional story with vibrant backdrops, beautiful prose, and angsty inner dialogue, so if that's your thing you will likely love this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Alcohol

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, and Racial slurs