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A review by bhnmt61
Memorial by Bryan Washington
4.0
Memorable characters, absorbing story, and I loved the setup- Mike abruptly leaves to spend time with his dying father the day after his mother has come to visit for the first time in years. So you have Mike’s boyfriend Ben awkwardly cohabiting with Mike’s mom in Houston, and Mike in Japan trying to connect with his estranged father before he dies. There are flashbacks to fill in the early days of Mike and Ben’s romance. The writing is like watching Simone Biles on the balance beam—that good.
I was even OK with the open-ended ending. I should have loved and adored this book. But there were an increasing number of elliptical conversations toward the end that I couldn’t understand, which made me feel stupid, which I hate. I feel like I would understand it much better if I read it again, but there are so many things I want to read right now (including Washington’s new book) that I don’t think I will. Maybe I will come back to it.
I was even OK with the open-ended ending. I should have loved and adored this book. But there were an increasing number of elliptical conversations toward the end that I couldn’t understand, which made me feel stupid, which I hate. I feel like I would understand it much better if I read it again, but there are so many things I want to read right now (including Washington’s new book) that I don’t think I will. Maybe I will come back to it.