![]() ![]() Memorial took my breath away.īenson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. ![]() Washington is a patient archeologist of the human heart, and a writer of uncommon depth. ![]() Memorial is about distance and separation, but it’s also about love in various forms-love that is compromised, love that endures. The two become unlikely housemates, and then allies of a kind. His departure leaves Benson to contend with the arrival of Mike’s exquisitely caustic mother, Mitsuko. Matters come to a head when Mike abruptly flies to Japan after learning that his estranged father is dying in Osaka. They’re a young couple living in Houston in what might be the final days of their relationship-neither of them is entirely sure. The book alternates between two characters: Benson, a Black day care teacher, and Mike, a Japanese American chef. Washington is one of the great chroniclers of the city, and here he brings both Houston and Osaka to true and vivid life. In this tender and wise novel, Washington keeps one foot in the Houston of his acclaimed debut collection, Lot, while also traveling to Osaka. It’s about families and food, about cultural division and communion. There’s a lot in Bryan Washington’s Memorial that’s close to my heart. ![]()
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