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Publication
Riverhead Books (2020), Edition: 1st Edition, 320 pages
Description
"A rom-com novel about two young people at a crossroads in their relationship"-- Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant. Benson is a Black day care teacher. They've been together for a few years, but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. There's the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other. When Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Houston for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he discovers the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together, but their time together ends up meaning more than they ever could have predicted. As both men change, will it make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known? -- adapted from jacket… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member richardderus
The Publisher Says: A funny, sexy, profound dramedy about two young people at a crossroads in their relationship and the limits of love.
Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson's a Black day care teacher,
But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted. Without Mike's immediate pull, Benson begins to push outwards, realizing he might just know what he wants out of life and have the goods to get it.
Both men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known. And just maybe they'll all be okay in the end. Memorial is a funny and profound story about family in all its strange forms, joyful and hard-won vulnerability, becoming who you're supposed to be, and the limits of love.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
“There's this phenomenon that you'll get sometimes - but not too often, if you're lucky - where 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 originated, the fault lines.”
If your memory needs refreshing, my 2019 almost-perfect review of LOT: STORIESwill refresh your memories as to my entirely positive opinion of Author Washington's story-crafting chops.
This novel is a downer to read, I'm afraid. It is very much about the pain of loving another, and discovering that it's never *just* about Love. The best, most beautiful moments in the book are also deeply sad ones. And, while that's okay, it's a bit wearing on the nerves.
Nothing should detract from your eagerness to read the story, just be sure it suits your personal mood. The fact that the men in this story are AAPI and Black, nary a white man to be found, should spur white gay men to read it: Author Washington is a Person of Color, and is drawing your attention to the universality of learning to make a life as a gay man in a world that doesn't always know it doesn't like us; then add the very real prejudices of ethnicity, body image issues, HIV status...it's actually a damn funny book a good bit of the time, and that laundry list wouldn't make you think I thought so.
Break out of your mental ghetto and live a major moment in the family life of men like you, only different.
Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson's a Black day care teacher,
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and they've been together for a few years—good years—but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. There's the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other.But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted. Without Mike's immediate pull, Benson begins to push outwards, realizing he might just know what he wants out of life and have the goods to get it.
Both men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known. And just maybe they'll all be okay in the end. Memorial is a funny and profound story about family in all its strange forms, joyful and hard-won vulnerability, becoming who you're supposed to be, and the limits of love.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: First, read this:
“There's this phenomenon that you'll get sometimes - but not too often, if you're lucky - where 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 originated, the fault lines.”
If your memory needs refreshing, my 2019 almost-perfect review of LOT: STORIESwill refresh your memories as to my entirely positive opinion of Author Washington's story-crafting chops.
This novel is a downer to read, I'm afraid. It is very much about the pain of loving another, and discovering that it's never *just* about Love. The best, most beautiful moments in the book are also deeply sad ones. And, while that's okay, it's a bit wearing on the nerves.
Nothing should detract from your eagerness to read the story, just be sure it suits your personal mood. The fact that the men in this story are AAPI and Black, nary a white man to be found, should spur white gay men to read it: Author Washington is a Person of Color, and is drawing your attention to the universality of learning to make a life as a gay man in a world that doesn't always know it doesn't like us; then add the very real prejudices of ethnicity, body image issues, HIV status...it's actually a damn funny book a good bit of the time, and that laundry list wouldn't make you think I thought so.
Break out of your mental ghetto and live a major moment in the family life of men like you, only different.
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LibraryThing member niaomiya
I am not quite sure what to say about this book. I liked it and didn't like it at the same time. Ultimately, the handful of truly poignant moments in the book were so beautifully described that it pushed me to give the book 4 stars instead of just 3.
So what is this book about? It's about love -
Having said all that, I didn't really like any of the characters. They were all not-so-nice people, doing not-so-nice things in their own ways. Yes, relationships are messy and complicated, but when you make them worse by adding to the complications, it just becomes not very entertaining to read about.
So, yes, I liked this book, but I didn't like it. That's the best way for me to describe it.
So what is this book about? It's about love -
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mother/son, father/son, husband/wife, brother/sister, gay man/gay man. It's about love in its many different incarnations and how messy and complicated it can be. What I truly enjoyed about this book was how natural the relationship between Benson and Mike felt. Benson is an African-American male; Mike, his boyfriend, is a Japanese-American male. Author Bryan Washington describes their daily life very matter-of-factly. Their relationship isn't exactly great - it's rocky - but it feels normal, and I appreciated reading about a gay male relationship without the gay male part being shouted at me and wildly waved around like a rainbow flag with a chip on its shoulder. It just is what it is, and that's the way it should be.Having said all that, I didn't really like any of the characters. They were all not-so-nice people, doing not-so-nice things in their own ways. Yes, relationships are messy and complicated, but when you make them worse by adding to the complications, it just becomes not very entertaining to read about.
So, yes, I liked this book, but I didn't like it. That's the best way for me to describe it.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Benson and Mike share a place in Houston's Third Ward. Their relationship isn't going well. Then Mike's mother comes to visit from Japan and the next day Mike flies out to Osaka to see the father he hasn't spoken to since he was a child. They are estranged, but when he hears that his father is
This is a quiet novel about families and about figuring out how to still love your family after things have gone wrong. It's not quite about forgiveness, Washington isn't aiming for fairy tale endings, but here he looks at two men from fractured families and how in coming to terms with their families, they may be able to find a way to move forward together.
The writing in this novel is structured in short segments, some a paragraph long, some a few pages, making the novel read quickly and changing the emotional direction of the books to shift a lot. Washington was not afraid to make this novel as episodic and chaotic as life; this isn't a book where the reader knows where things are going and can settle in and enjoy how Washington gets there.
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dying, Mike finds that he needs to go care for him. Left behind with Mike's mother, Benson develops a cautious relationship with her, and along the way begins to come to terms with his feelings about his own family, one that kicked him out years ago but now needs him. This is a quiet novel about families and about figuring out how to still love your family after things have gone wrong. It's not quite about forgiveness, Washington isn't aiming for fairy tale endings, but here he looks at two men from fractured families and how in coming to terms with their families, they may be able to find a way to move forward together.
The writing in this novel is structured in short segments, some a paragraph long, some a few pages, making the novel read quickly and changing the emotional direction of the books to shift a lot. Washington was not afraid to make this novel as episodic and chaotic as life; this isn't a book where the reader knows where things are going and can settle in and enjoy how Washington gets there.
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LibraryThing member sleahey
As a straight white older woman from rural New England, I felt like I was given a glimpse into another country and culture by reading Memorial. Set in Houston and Osaka, the main characters are African-American Benson and Japanese-American Mike, a couple undergoing a questioning of their
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relationship. At the same time that Mike has decided to visit his estranged dying father in Japan, his mother has arrived from Japan in Houston and must share their apartment alone with Benson, of whom she doesn't approve. During the course of the novel, both readers and characters will try to sort out how they feel about each other. This must be figured out by reading between the lines, as they all avoid expressing emotions in any straightforward way and the absence of quotation marks can make for confusing dialog. The result is ambiguity, and perhaps a realistic lack of resolution. The description of the young gay social scene seems like it is candid and authentic. Show Less
LibraryThing member StefanieGeeks
The quote-free dialogue threw me off for a few pages, but, once I got used to the writing style, I was sucked into lives of the fully drawn and dynamic players of this family drama and found the story to be compulsively readable.
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
I think central to the book is the question of which "we" to identify with: Benson is Black, Mike is Japanese, they are both gay. Each of these designations comes into play in their relationship and at times presents obstacles. Ben is HIV positive and his family let him down when he revealed this.
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Mike's estranged father, still in Japan is dying of pancreatic cancer. Ben and Mike have a volatile relationship that doesn't always stand up to tests of faithfulness or unconditional support, but there is something there as a foundation that neither can walk away from. I think they understand the damage families can inflict. Mike's mother Mitsuko comes from Japan to visit them in Houston and days later, he leaves for Japan to be with his dying father Eiju, who owns a bar and won't quit working despite his illness. Mike fits himself in his life, working at the bar, tending Eiju when he gets worse, navigating all his father's friendships and expectations, one of which is that he will carry on the bar's ownership. His father also has to come to terms with Mike's sexual identity, which he does, though not very gracefully. This is not a Hallmark tale by any means. Meanwhile, Ben is left to host and entertain Mitsuko around his shifts at his daycare job - she is no unobtrusive houseguest. She takes over the kitchen, talks to Ben frankly, questions his relationship with her son, and ultimately stands in his corner. Ben's family is challenging as well: parents who divorced rancorously, a busy-body sister Lydia who means well and a father who has become a drunk and has never been very accepting of Ben's lifestyle. Washington is a gritty realistic writer who can dig down to the heart of a relationship, warts and all, and still find something worth salvaging. That is ultimately the question between Mike and Ben when Mike returns. The question is if and/or how to continue to love people who hurt us - and what do we owe to the bonds of family? Is the memorial to a dead man or a dying relationship? No easy answers and no clear resolution. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beth.Clarke
The interactions between the two characters felt real. It shows both perspectives and the difficulties with relationships. It is a multi-generational and multi-race novel that explores trust and desire. Very well written!
LibraryThing member Narshkite
A quiet story. Its tone feels like a lot of Japanese literature. It is an interesting choice on Washington's part. It makes you work hard to dig down into the characters. Lazy readers would likely see sad and disconnected characters but really that is not the case at all. This is a character study
I was gratified by a book that gave us characters we don't often see in litfic - economically lower middle class, not college educated, and not striving to be either of those things. It also presents certain characteristics that are often a BIG DEAL in literature with no muss or fuss. The central couple are of different races and countries of origin, and that is not really a thing, there are people with substance abuse issues, and while those issues have ripple effects, we don't have to analyze the disease itself, (view spoiler). It was refreshing.
The one significant negative for me (if I could I would have rated this a 3.5) was the relationship between Ben and Mike. I liked them individually, but i would have liked to have some reason to want to preserve their relationship. It was hard to see what was there to hang on to, and it felt clear that they would both easily survive the breakup, and would likely be the better for it. I was sadder to think that Ben and Mitsuko (Mike's mother) would be separated than that Ben and Mike would be. The most compelling relationships by far were between Ben and Mitsuoko and Mike and Eiju and I am not sure that is what Washington intended.
Overall a lovely quiet read with real resonance. I need to mention that I find people's obsession with the lack of quotation marks odd. Not using quotation marks gives encounters a more natural vivacity, and also more closely aligns prose with poetry. I have no problem with quotation marks, but I also get that they, like all punctuation, are a choice -- a way to set a tone, establish authorial voice, and define the relationship between the story and the reader. This is not something Sally Rooney invented, so stop with that shit. James Joyce was eschewing quotation marks before Sally Rooney's parents were born. Established current writers like Cormac McCarthy, Junot Diaz and Louise Erdrich do the same. If you can't figure out that people are having a conversation without quotations marks either you have a bad writer on your hands, or you are a bad reader.
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about two people so dinged up they are afraid to feel too much and also so afraid to be their fathers that they are paralyzed when it comes to defining themselves as adults. That fear of feeling extends to the secondary characters as well.I was gratified by a book that gave us characters we don't often see in litfic - economically lower middle class, not college educated, and not striving to be either of those things. It also presents certain characteristics that are often a BIG DEAL in literature with no muss or fuss. The central couple are of different races and countries of origin, and that is not really a thing, there are people with substance abuse issues, and while those issues have ripple effects, we don't have to analyze the disease itself, (view spoiler). It was refreshing.
The one significant negative for me (if I could I would have rated this a 3.5) was the relationship between Ben and Mike. I liked them individually, but i would have liked to have some reason to want to preserve their relationship. It was hard to see what was there to hang on to, and it felt clear that they would both easily survive the breakup, and would likely be the better for it. I was sadder to think that Ben and Mitsuko (Mike's mother) would be separated than that Ben and Mike would be. The most compelling relationships by far were between Ben and Mitsuoko and Mike and Eiju and I am not sure that is what Washington intended.
Overall a lovely quiet read with real resonance. I need to mention that I find people's obsession with the lack of quotation marks odd. Not using quotation marks gives encounters a more natural vivacity, and also more closely aligns prose with poetry. I have no problem with quotation marks, but I also get that they, like all punctuation, are a choice -- a way to set a tone, establish authorial voice, and define the relationship between the story and the reader. This is not something Sally Rooney invented, so stop with that shit. James Joyce was eschewing quotation marks before Sally Rooney's parents were born. Established current writers like Cormac McCarthy, Junot Diaz and Louise Erdrich do the same. If you can't figure out that people are having a conversation without quotations marks either you have a bad writer on your hands, or you are a bad reader.
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LibraryThing member booklove2
A zippy narrative of a relationship between two men and taking care of aging parents. Very real and honest yet funny. So honest though, you wonder why these two stick together. They fight alot. But maybe that's because their parents didn't make it smooth sailing for them either. I did appreciate
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the Rachel Khong epigraph in the beginning. As a fan of 'Goodbye, Vitamin', I can see the inspiration here of a "kid" having to take care of the sick parent -- each parent was also writing little notes in each book. Some of the little details in 'Memorial' are evidence of a great writerly imagination but 'Goodbye, Vitamin' is tough to beat when it comes to noticing little brilliant things other writers would not in the kitchen sink approach. So try that book if you liked this one! I'm glad the Morning News Tournament of Books placed both of these books in my hands. Show Less
LibraryThing member shazjhb
Well written book. Interesting story about two gay men from different cultures. Not sure if I really understood the relationships.
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This book did not engage me at all. I wondered if it was the narrator of the audio version I was listening to, but decided not. The story of a young man sorting out relationships with his lover, his mother, his father and himself fell flat. The language was simplistic and the characters seemed one
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dimensional to me. I did not finish the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member banjo123
I thought this was a great book, about the relationships between two men, Benson, an African American in Houston and his boyfriend, Mike, who is Japanese American; and also their relationships with their families. Benson works in a child care center, Mike is a restaurant. The relationship is
As the book starts, Mike leaves for Japan, to care for his estranged, terminally ill father; Benson is left behind with Mike's mother, who had just showed up from Japan for a visit. We get the story from both men's viewpoints; and learn something about how much richness there can be even in a very flawed relationship.
Washington called the book a " gay slacker dramedy," which I think is a good description. It leaves you with good feelings, but no answers.
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troubled, as both men come with a fair amount of baggage.As the book starts, Mike leaves for Japan, to care for his estranged, terminally ill father; Benson is left behind with Mike's mother, who had just showed up from Japan for a visit. We get the story from both men's viewpoints; and learn something about how much richness there can be even in a very flawed relationship.
Washington called the book a " gay slacker dramedy," which I think is a good description. It leaves you with good feelings, but no answers.
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LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
This is Washington's first novel. I read his collection of short stories "Lot" about characters(mainly gay) living in Houston. I enjoyed it and decided to get his novel. I was disappointed. The story about 2 young gay men in a relationship in Houston was told through the 1st person of each main
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character, Ben, a black day care worker, and Mike a Japanese-american cook. The story seemed to try and introduce as many complexities as possible. Both men had abusive alcoholic fathers who abandoned the family. The author reversed stereotypes and had Ben growing up middle class and Mike poor. There was so much about the story that didn't ring true and there was value to seeing the family relationships and the characters interacting with those around them. However this recipe did not create a good or interesting outcome. When a book is a struggle to read then no matter how realistic and educational the story may be it does not rise to the level of one that I would recommend. Given the glowing reviews that Memorial has received, I felt compelled to put my 2.5 star rating out there for the prospective reader. Show Less
LibraryThing member jonerthon
Smart and timely novel about the kinds of families that have always existed but not necessarily had their stories told: an imperfect couple of gay men that are trying to do right by their parents, as well as keep family ties alive with multiple challenges in their way. It's also a good read if
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you're looking for stories of poorer families; there could have been a jet-set theme to moving back and forth from the US to Japan, but most real families that do this have to scrimp to make it work. And this one felt very realistic, plus virtually all of the characters are people of color, fitting for the setting because believe it or not, Houston is just about the most diverse city in the US! My favorite fiction title of 2021 so far. Show Less
LibraryThing member flourgirl49
This is the story of two gay men and their relationship, and the extended family of each play major roles as well. Most disturbing to me were the elliptical conversations everybody seemed to have, never completely addressing the issues facing them and remaining aloof and unemotionally involved. A
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clear resolution by the conclusion of the story is not forthcoming, and I did not feel that the glowing reviews of this book were fully deserved. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarltonC
An easy and distinctive style of first person narrative drew me into this book, with lots of short sharp sentences. But disappointingly the “voices” of the two narrators (Benson and Mike) in their separate sections were not distinguishable to me, with Mike, as a Japanese American, sounding no
Set in a black neighbourhood of Houston, Texas, and Osaka, Japan which are locations I haven’t read about before, this is the story of Benson and Mike’s fragile relationship with each other and with their parents. Despite the weaknesses noted above, I really enjoyed this book for its very different world and the style, so I will look forward to Washington’s next book.
I learned about things outside my experience, such as PrEP, which is a drug to prevent the transmission of HIV, and there are the names of lots of cuisine and ingredients which were entirely alien to me, but which made sense in the story. I also learned a little Spanish, as Hispanic is spoken in Houston:
• lo encontramos por alla - we found it over there
• lo siento - I am sorry
• Necesitas cuidarlo - You need to take care of it
• Gabacho - word used to describe foreigners of different origins in previous history. Its origin is in Peninsular Spain, as a derogatory synonym of "French".
There are a few photos to accompany the text, “from” Mike when he is in Japan, as if we cannot imagine these scenes? Did we have photos in literary novels before Sebald? What do the photos add in this instance?
And then I wondered whether we, the readers, were expected to be able to visualise Houston without the prop of photos, but Washington was concerned that his style of writing in the first person would not enable the narrator to describe Osaka, as why would he? However, later, he does include a photo of Houston, so he could just be simulating the photos that Mike and Benson send each other.
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different than Benson. The sex scenes were also a little too strident and gratuitous.Set in a black neighbourhood of Houston, Texas, and Osaka, Japan which are locations I haven’t read about before, this is the story of Benson and Mike’s fragile relationship with each other and with their parents. Despite the weaknesses noted above, I really enjoyed this book for its very different world and the style, so I will look forward to Washington’s next book.
I learned about things outside my experience, such as PrEP, which is a drug to prevent the transmission of HIV, and there are the names of lots of cuisine and ingredients which were entirely alien to me, but which made sense in the story. I also learned a little Spanish, as Hispanic is spoken in Houston:
• lo encontramos por alla - we found it over there
• lo siento - I am sorry
• Necesitas cuidarlo - You need to take care of it
• Gabacho - word used to describe foreigners of different origins in previous history. Its origin is in Peninsular Spain, as a derogatory synonym of "French".
There are a few photos to accompany the text, “from” Mike when he is in Japan, as if we cannot imagine these scenes? Did we have photos in literary novels before Sebald? What do the photos add in this instance?
And then I wondered whether we, the readers, were expected to be able to visualise Houston without the prop of photos, but Washington was concerned that his style of writing in the first person would not enable the narrator to describe Osaka, as why would he? However, later, he does include a photo of Houston, so he could just be simulating the photos that Mike and Benson send each other.
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LibraryThing member wellreadcatlady
Thank you NetGalley and Riverhead Books for the arc in return for an honest review!
I've had my eye on Memorial ever since I first heard about it a few months ago because I enjoyed Bryan Washington's book, Lot. This is literary fiction at its finest because it is so different than anything else
With all of that said, this book is not for everyone. If you want a light hearted rom-com book, I don't suggest this, but if you like complex characters and want to deep dive into a variety of relationships that all have a history you need to understand in order to get why the characters are doing what they are doing, you will love this book.
I've had my eye on Memorial ever since I first heard about it a few months ago because I enjoyed Bryan Washington's book, Lot. This is literary fiction at its finest because it is so different than anything else
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being published right now. What stood out for me was that it partially takes place in Houston and as a Houston native the description of the different parts of the city just felt so comforting because of the ways the characters describe the city, it's not a perfect city and they know that, but it is their home. The characters are also different, Benson is a day care teacher who grew up middle class and black, while Mike is a chef and he is the son to Japanese immigrants that struggled. They have been in a relationship for a few years and it has all become very routine. The question becomes why they are together and is this what they want. An interracial gay couple with service jobs in a steady relationship with struggles is so refreshing to read. Then you add in their parents with their problems and input into their relationship and it makes a perfect story. Mike's dad lives in Japan and he is dying so he goes there to take care of him and his bar, leaving Benson with Mike's mother who is visiting from Japan to stay at their apartment., meanwhile Benson's dad is drinking heavily and his mom is too busy with her new family and his sister doesn't talk to their parents, leaving him to deal with his dad. Washington's writing of the situation adds some quick bits of humor and an introspective reflection on the men's relationships with their families and each other. I love that nothing is quite spelled out in terms of feelings, but instead are hinted at by thoughts and actions. It is realistic and the readers can feel the uncertainty in everything. With all of that said, this book is not for everyone. If you want a light hearted rom-com book, I don't suggest this, but if you like complex characters and want to deep dive into a variety of relationships that all have a history you need to understand in order to get why the characters are doing what they are doing, you will love this book.
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
This book had a good premise: a young gay couple, Mike, a Japanese-American, and Ben, Black, are in a steady but shakey relationship, living together, but not sure whether to remain a couple. Then Mike's Japanese mother arrives for an extended visit on the same day Mike is living for Japan to take
The novel is told in basically two parts, one from Ben's point of view in Houston as he questions his relationship with Mike and potentially starts new relationships, all the while in uneasy "roommateship" with Mitsuko. The second part involves Mike in Japan, attempting to come to terms with his father, trying to decide whether to move to Japan to take over his father's restaurant, and also potentially starting new relationships.
I can tell the book is very well-written, and it has won lots of awards. But I don't know if so-called gay "Rom-Com" is for me. First, there is lots of explicitly described gay sex. I'm not a prude, but this was so unnecessary. The book is also not at all romantic, nor is it a comedy. Instead, I view it as the story of a failed relationship. The parts I liked best were those involving the relationships of Mike and Ben with their fathers. In both cases, the relationships were strained, there were long periods of estrangement, but they were working toward reconciliation. Ben's clash of cultures with Mitsuko was also interesting.
2 1/2 stars
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care of his estranged father who is ill. Ben is left to deal with Mitsuko, Mike's mother.The novel is told in basically two parts, one from Ben's point of view in Houston as he questions his relationship with Mike and potentially starts new relationships, all the while in uneasy "roommateship" with Mitsuko. The second part involves Mike in Japan, attempting to come to terms with his father, trying to decide whether to move to Japan to take over his father's restaurant, and also potentially starting new relationships.
I can tell the book is very well-written, and it has won lots of awards. But I don't know if so-called gay "Rom-Com" is for me. First, there is lots of explicitly described gay sex. I'm not a prude, but this was so unnecessary. The book is also not at all romantic, nor is it a comedy. Instead, I view it as the story of a failed relationship. The parts I liked best were those involving the relationships of Mike and Ben with their fathers. In both cases, the relationships were strained, there were long periods of estrangement, but they were working toward reconciliation. Ben's clash of cultures with Mitsuko was also interesting.
2 1/2 stars
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LibraryThing member bookczuk
2021 pandemic read. Trying to read outside of my statistical labels. Interesting book, and interesting glimpses of other lives, cultures, and lifestyles.
LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Rather melancholy story of two men at a turning point in their relationship.
LibraryThing member tanyaferrell
I really loved this book. I read it in one sitting. I started out loving the characters and main relationship it focused on but as layers began to be peeled back on their history, I also started to understand more about why they were falling apart. So heartbreaking, not in a tragic, over the top
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way, but in a life way. I was debating between a 4 and 5 star rating due to the ending, but the fact that I'm still thinking about it and want to talk about it and all of the themes this book brought up probably means the author made the right choice. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jacsun
When I first read the description, it said, "funny." I didn't find it funny or sad.
It was a love story between two guys - Benson and Mike. They have been together for four years. It begins when Mike picks up his mom at the airport and drops her off at his one-bedroom apartment in a lively
Like many love stories, there's drama and this one doesn't go without it. Every once in awhile, Mike's quiet mother, Mitsuko had some wisdom to share. She was no longer living with Mike's father. But when they were together in Japan, she said, "We didn't think whether it would work or not. We just did it."
The author takes the reader into the background of their lives and how they came together. This is a book that can resonate differently with readers.
It was a love story between two guys - Benson and Mike. They have been together for four years. It begins when Mike picks up his mom at the airport and drops her off at his one-bedroom apartment in a lively
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neighborhood of Houston where he lives with his partner and roommate, Ben. Mike wanted to spend time with his father who lives in Japan during his last days even though they haven't been close. His dad has pancreatic cancer. In the meantime, Mike's mother, Mitsuko, takes over their only bedroom.Like many love stories, there's drama and this one doesn't go without it. Every once in awhile, Mike's quiet mother, Mitsuko had some wisdom to share. She was no longer living with Mike's father. But when they were together in Japan, she said, "We didn't think whether it would work or not. We just did it."
The author takes the reader into the background of their lives and how they came together. This is a book that can resonate differently with readers.
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LibraryThing member Jacsun
When I first read the description, it said, "funny." I didn't find it funny or sad.
It was a love story between two guys - Benson and Mike. They have been together for four years. It begins when Mike picks up his mom at the airport and drops her off at his one-bedroom apartment in a lively
Like many love stories, there's drama and this one doesn't go without it. Every once in awhile, Mike's quiet mother, Mitsuko had some wisdom to share. She was no longer living with Mike's father. But when they were together in Japan, she said, "We didn't think whether it would work or not. We just did it."
The author takes the reader into the background of their lives and how they came together. This is a book that can resonate differently with readers.
It was a love story between two guys - Benson and Mike. They have been together for four years. It begins when Mike picks up his mom at the airport and drops her off at his one-bedroom apartment in a lively
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neighborhood of Houston where he lives with his partner and roommate, Ben. Mike wanted to spend time with his father who lives in Japan during his last days even though they haven't been close. His dad has pancreatic cancer. In the meantime, Mike's mother, Mitsuko, takes over their only bedroom.Like many love stories, there's drama and this one doesn't go without it. Every once in awhile, Mike's quiet mother, Mitsuko had some wisdom to share. She was no longer living with Mike's father. But when they were together in Japan, she said, "We didn't think whether it would work or not. We just did it."
The author takes the reader into the background of their lives and how they came together. This is a book that can resonate differently with readers.
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LibraryThing member BibliophageOnCoffee
This book started losing steam for me right around the time it switched from Benson's perspective to Mike's. I think this book is obviously important for interracial queer representation, but the story is a little flat overall. Not a bad read, just not as good as I was expecting based on all the
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hype. Show Less
LibraryThing member Hccpsk
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Recently, I’ve complained a lot about whiny but witty, youngish female protagonists who stumble through life in books with very little plot and somehow also little character development. Memorial by Bryan Washington
Recently, I’ve complained a lot about whiny but witty, youngish female protagonists who stumble through life in books with very little plot and somehow also little character development. Memorial by Bryan Washington
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may be the male version of this, but better--and I liked it. Mike and Ben are struggling a few years into their relationship when Mike decides to fly from Houston to Japan to see his dying father. Unfortunately for Ben, Mike’s mother arrives from Japan to visit the day before Mike leaves. Washington builds an interesting structure as the first half and last chunk of the book are told in Ben’s voice--predominantly present day. The middle shifts to Mike and flashes around from present-day Osaka to Mike’s family to Ben and Mike’s relationship backstory. Like the books I complain about, there is a lot of angst-filled dialogue and young-people zeitgeist, but Memorial gives us some fresh angles and finds deep connections in the conversations. Washington handles race and LGBTQ issues with a deft hand so they feel real and compelling. The relationships between Ben and Mike’s mother and Mike and his father evolve in organically believable ways, and I will not soon forget them. Memorial may not be for everyone, but it’s a beautiful little book about relationships and family that I highly recommend. Show Less
Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2020)
The Morning News Tournament of Books (Quarterfinalist — 2021)
James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Shortlist — Fiction — 2022)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction — 2021)
Aspen Words Literary Prize (Longlist — 2021)
Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction (Longlist — Fiction — 2021)
VCU Cabell First Novelist Award (Finalist — 2021)
Texas Institute of Letters Award (Winner — 2020)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2021)
Heartland Booksellers Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2021)
NPR: Books We Love (2020)
Boston Globe Best Book (Fiction — 2020)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction — 2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2020)
Pages
320
ISBN
0593087275 / 9780593087275