Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Memorial by Bryan Washington

31 reviews

greatu's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

shannahtan's review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It’s two people who love each other but fail to communicate except to say the most hurtful things possible to everyone in their lives including each other and never apologize. Honestly, it’s a reminder that people can’t read your mind.

I’m a sucker for a book that’s set in Houston. I loved recognizing the places and stories. It’s beautiful and reads quickly, but maybe I need a break from the trope of wounded people pushing everyone away and being assholes then everyone they love just kind of taking it in stride.

The title is quite poetic though. Memorial for Eiju, for their relationship? For the things they did wrong? But also Memorial Drive & Memorial Park in Houston.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Sexual content

areadingstan's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad medium-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

4.0

I thought this was a very calming read, and it felt very realistic for a contemporary novel, not trying to be anything it wasn’t but a story of a couple figuring out their issues and dealing with other problems in their life. 

My favourite character was definitely Mitsuko, she was a very motherly mother, and well-written. 

I got through Benson’s passages very quickly because of the short chapters but I liked how Mike’s chapters were structured differently, it really made me feel as if I was hearing it from their separate perspectives and it allowed me to see things from both sides. 

I’ll definitely be reading more of Washington’s work. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Violence

gabbygarcia's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism

menomica's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-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? No

Ok, I will say, the writing of this book was very good. It’s what kept me coming back. It was very simplistic, which I liked. It got the point across. 
I feel like the book wanted to do things, but never really delivered. The book itself suffers from not having a proper ending, like much of the storylines in it. I think the most obvious example is with Tam. He’s introduced, as if he’s going to a huge player and very influential, but then he fucks off for 20 pages, and only comes back for three lines before Mike ditches him. 
Other things/themes I felt like this book pointed at but never actually took the time to elaborate on:

• Racism: Besides the “racist jokes” and that instance with the racist waiter, the biggest moment of this for me was with the Workers at the play center and how they interacted with Ahmad/Benson was giving very much let’s antagonize the black kid cause it’s easiest to do. Also, even though it was a joke, them referring to Ahmad as Ben’s because they’re the only black people in the center felt… racially motivated. But it was never really elaborated beyond that. The theme of race itself was prominent throughout the book, and I think that was done well because it was obviously from an observational lense, and not with the intent of making commentary, but sometimes it felt like they’d touch on racism and then drop it like a hot potato
• Tam. Wtf. What was the reason for him being there. For Mike to have a potential love interest?? Nothing developed between them, and yet he was introduced as someone who was going to be super big and important for Mike. THEY DIDN’T EVEN HAVE SEX They exchange very minimal conversion and it just felt like there was supposed to be development there but it just never happened. And then Mike just left (like his dad did with him)!

Speaking of Mike. Ew. This is very much a Mike hate account. He’s very immature and inconsiderate. He can’t figure out his shit and leaves others to deal with the fall out for that. The biggest example of this, besides the failure that is his relationship with Ben, is that he invited his mother over to the states just to leave to go to Japan. He’s a bit selfish. And also, he literally said a fucking slur??? There was no way he was going to be good with that joke he said at the end of the first chapter. He also invalidates Ben a lot, if not with the fact that they grew up differently economically, then just his emotions in general. He never respects the boundaries that Ben places (the monogamy, letting his mother stay at their place while he was in Japan). So yeah, throughout this book I was very much rooting for Ben to pack his shit and leave him.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Infidelity

Minor: Bullying, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Racial slurs

debookgeek's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual content and Racism

Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia

gm_vak's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, and Sexual content

mxfahrenheit's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming and Vomit

sarahholliday's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I think this book is beautiful (particularly the last section), and a very compelling story at its heart. 

That being said, it's also a case of "just not for me." I am big fan of inner monologue & introspective characters, and that's not what this story is focused on. This is a story of the space that's left when we don't say what we're thinking or express what we're feeling. It's a story of action & doing, not pondering. 

I was prepared for this to be a solid 3-star read (in terms of my own personal taste), and then I read the final section and sort of fell in love with the book as a whole. So if you do read it, and think it isn't for you, I highly recommend sticking it out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcoholism and Racial slurs

wai's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is so tender and beautiful and there are not enough words to explain or describe it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

Minor: Police brutality, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Vomit