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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
I absolutely adored this book.
My favorite character would have to be Mike's mom. I love just how she was characterized and she added some humor towards the end of the book. She is just a fantastic character and I could clearly picture some mothers in my head who remind me of her.
The thing I really enjoyed was the alternating points of view between Mike and Benson. I also really love the added parts in Mike's point of view while he was in Japan. I love how some things were resolved at the end, but others were left unresolved which is really like life.
My favorite character would have to be Mike's mom. I love just how she was characterized and she added some humor towards the end of the book. She is just a fantastic character and I could clearly picture some mothers in my head who remind me of her.
The thing I really enjoyed was the alternating points of view between Mike and Benson. I also really love the added parts in Mike's point of view while he was in Japan. I love how some things were resolved at the end, but others were left unresolved which is really like life.
I read this during/around peak social distancing, and it was one of the only books that not only held but actually captivated my attention during the weird mudginess of that time. Washington provides a rewarding and thoughtful novel with deceptively huge themes, none of which are overwrought. Memorial's characters are so deftly drawn that they're still with me as long-lost acquaintances I wonder about from time to time. Atmospheric, unvarnished, warm. Funny and wry in parts, devastating in others. No wasted movement. A masterpiece.
La leçon du livre c’est on est misérables mais on va rester ensemble ughhh next
Heartbreaking and "tender like a bruise" (from Katie Kitamura's review). Bryan Washington writes with depth, and cinematically.
“You’re taking up space in another human’s brain, she said. You’re a foreign entity. A parasite. That’s a lot by itself.”
“It’s hard to head home without succumbing to nostalgia, standing where so many versions of yourself once stood, one of a suburb’s magical properties.”
“It’s hard to head home without succumbing to nostalgia, standing where so many versions of yourself once stood, one of a suburb’s magical properties.”
“You’re taking up space in another human’s brain, she said. You’re a foreign entity. A parasite. That’s a lot by itself.”
“It’s hard to head home without succumbing to nostalgia, standing where so many versions of yourself once stood, one of a suburb’s magical properties.”
“It’s hard to head home without succumbing to nostalgia, standing where so many versions of yourself once stood, one of a suburb’s magical properties.”
I don’t know why I loved this, but I did. It made me hungry a lot though. Loved all the food content.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 - “That loving a person means letting them change when they need to. And letting them go when they need to. And that doesn’t make them any less of a home. Just maybe not one for you. Or only for a season or two. But that doesn’t diminish the love. It just changes forms.” ~ Tan
This started off a bit slow for me but I ended up really loving it. Set in Houston, it’s told from the POV of Benson and Mike who are at a crossroads in their relationship. Mike has to suddenly go back to Japan to see his terminally ill Dad and Benson ends up staying in their apartment with Mike’s Mom whom he has just met. This is a beautifully nuanced novel about all the relationships we encounter in life - partners, parents, siblings - and the challenges we face navigating them over the years. Such memorable characters including Mitsuko (my fave!) and passages:
“Ma must’ve taken the photo when we were in Cali. I don’t remember her doing that. But I guess that’s the thing: we take our memories wherever we go, and what’s left are the ones that stick around, and that’s how we make a life.”~ Mike
And this crushingly beautiful way of describing what the LGBTQ+ community deal with in their daily lives:
“There’s this phenomenon that you’ll get sometimes – but not too often, if you’re lucky – where is someone you think you know says something about your gayness that you weren’t expecting at all. Ben called it a tiny earthquake. I don’t think he was wrong. You’re destabilized, is the point. How much just depends on where the quake originates, the fault lines.” ~ Mike
And the ending? Perfection.
This started off a bit slow for me but I ended up really loving it. Set in Houston, it’s told from the POV of Benson and Mike who are at a crossroads in their relationship. Mike has to suddenly go back to Japan to see his terminally ill Dad and Benson ends up staying in their apartment with Mike’s Mom whom he has just met. This is a beautifully nuanced novel about all the relationships we encounter in life - partners, parents, siblings - and the challenges we face navigating them over the years. Such memorable characters including Mitsuko (my fave!) and passages:
“Ma must’ve taken the photo when we were in Cali. I don’t remember her doing that. But I guess that’s the thing: we take our memories wherever we go, and what’s left are the ones that stick around, and that’s how we make a life.”~ Mike
And this crushingly beautiful way of describing what the LGBTQ+ community deal with in their daily lives:
“There’s this phenomenon that you’ll get sometimes – but not too often, if you’re lucky – where is someone you think you know says something about your gayness that you weren’t expecting at all. Ben called it a tiny earthquake. I don’t think he was wrong. You’re destabilized, is the point. How much just depends on where the quake originates, the fault lines.” ~ Mike
And the ending? Perfection.
