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I enjoyed Bryan Washington's short story collection 'Lot' and was happy to see he already had another book published--this time a novel.
A heartfelt story about a gay couple (college students Benson and Mike) living in Houston and Mike's decision to go to Japan to see his dying father right as his mother arrives in the states to stay with him. Thus Benson is alone to host a woman he doesn't know at all and who is righteously annoyed her son took off to see her ex-husband. There's more, but this is an often funny, definitely poignant story about relationships.
A heartfelt story about a gay couple (college students Benson and Mike) living in Houston and Mike's decision to go to Japan to see his dying father right as his mother arrives in the states to stay with him. Thus Benson is alone to host a woman he doesn't know at all and who is righteously annoyed her son took off to see her ex-husband. There's more, but this is an often funny, definitely poignant story about relationships.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This is so small and so quiet and yet goddamn it’s so fucking powerful. A story about fathers and sons, about fractures in relationships - romantic, familial, otherwise - and how to overcome them (or how to decide they’re not worth overcoming). I swallowed this book whole.
what was that
the dialogue didn't have quotation marks and it was hard to tell when someone was speaking
the story wasn't really consistent
the ending didn't feel like an ending
the dialogue didn't have quotation marks and it was hard to tell when someone was speaking
the story wasn't really consistent
the ending didn't feel like an ending
Two different P.O.V.s of the same couple. Different races, different lives, and the relationship coming to a bitter end. I did enjoy it, but it's very melancholy and sad.
This was a perfect novel, to me. I'm not sure when I last encountered such a beautiful, realistic illustration of the way we distance ourselves from each other in the midst of grief and how mundane the most meaningful bids for connection tend to be.
So far, muligvis den bedste bog jeg har læst i sommerhuset!
SO GOOD!
SO GOOD!
Mike and Benson have been living together for two years, but the boundaries of their relationship are a bit fuzzy. Then Mike's mother arrives for a visit from Japan at the same time Mike must unexpectedly leave to care for his dying father. That leaves Benson, who doesn't even know if his relationship with Mike will last, to entertain Mike's mother for an undetermined amount of time. Through strained relationships with their own and each other's families, the two men learn about the strange ties that hold us together.
I'm not totally sure why the publisher is marketing this as a funny book, as it wasn't really funny to me. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bryan Washington's writing is so sharp and his characters are so well constructed. Nothing in this book is clean cut or easy; it's messy and complex and chewy in a very human way. I loved every moment.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I'm not totally sure why the publisher is marketing this as a funny book, as it wasn't really funny to me. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bryan Washington's writing is so sharp and his characters are so well constructed. Nothing in this book is clean cut or easy; it's messy and complex and chewy in a very human way. I loved every moment.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I can’t sugarcoat this… I hated Memorial.
I was so excited to start reading this after I heard it compared to the voice of Ocean Vuong. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is one of my favorite books, so hearing that there was another book filled with just as much heart and prose was so exciting.
Now that I have finished Memorial, I can confidently say comparing this book to the likes of Vuong is like saying the works of Shakespeare are at the same level as Twilight.
Most of the time (and especially when a novel is covering such deep topics) I am generally able to find at least some good despite disliking the writing style, but I could not even muster a moment of enjoyment in this book.
First of all the characters were all insufferable. They weren’t imperfect in a sense that came off as charming or endearing in an understandable way, they were just all an insanely miserable group.
There was no chemistry or tangible love - not between partners, not between family, and not between friends. “Deep” moments of introspection or reconnection missed the mark; everybody sucks and honestly there was no logical rationale for any kind of redemption arcs. Any attempts towards that fell flat as there was no reason for readers to connect with or forgive. I didn’t know the characters, I didn’t get underneath their skin, I didn’t even have a moment of empathy. It’s hard to root for the characters in a book to find happiness when each and every one of them is horrendous in a way that remains so surface level and cold.
Additionally, I DESPISED the writing style in Memorial.
“He said” “I said” “He said” “I said” “He Said” “I said” “She said” “I said” “He said” “I said” “He said” “She said”.
Dear. Lord. Every damn second there was a “he said” and I wanted to rip my hair out.
The writing in Memorial was so painfully sophomoric and I felt like it almost tried too hard to land “deep” thoughts in a subtle way that just didn’t meet the mark.
I came in with high expectations for Memorial, but unfortunately came nowhere close to meeting them.
I was so excited to start reading this after I heard it compared to the voice of Ocean Vuong. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is one of my favorite books, so hearing that there was another book filled with just as much heart and prose was so exciting.
Now that I have finished Memorial, I can confidently say comparing this book to the likes of Vuong is like saying the works of Shakespeare are at the same level as Twilight.
Most of the time (and especially when a novel is covering such deep topics) I am generally able to find at least some good despite disliking the writing style, but I could not even muster a moment of enjoyment in this book.
First of all the characters were all insufferable. They weren’t imperfect in a sense that came off as charming or endearing in an understandable way, they were just all an insanely miserable group.
There was no chemistry or tangible love - not between partners, not between family, and not between friends. “Deep” moments of introspection or reconnection missed the mark; everybody sucks and honestly there was no logical rationale for any kind of redemption arcs. Any attempts towards that fell flat as there was no reason for readers to connect with or forgive. I didn’t know the characters, I didn’t get underneath their skin, I didn’t even have a moment of empathy. It’s hard to root for the characters in a book to find happiness when each and every one of them is horrendous in a way that remains so surface level and cold.
Additionally, I DESPISED the writing style in Memorial.
“He said” “I said” “He said” “I said” “He Said” “I said” “She said” “I said” “He said” “I said” “He said” “She said”.
Dear. Lord. Every damn second there was a “he said” and I wanted to rip my hair out.
The writing in Memorial was so painfully sophomoric and I felt like it almost tried too hard to land “deep” thoughts in a subtle way that just didn’t meet the mark.
I came in with high expectations for Memorial, but unfortunately came nowhere close to meeting them.
CAWPILE: 8.29/10 - 4/5
Este libro trata acerca de temas muy pesados, como el duelo, la perdida y la comunidad LGBTQIA en su modo más crudo.
Me gustó mucho y me hizo pensar demasiado.
Este libro trata acerca de temas muy pesados, como el duelo, la perdida y la comunidad LGBTQIA en su modo más crudo.
Me gustó mucho y me hizo pensar demasiado.