Memorial
2021 • 384 pages
Ratings24
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings24
Average rating3.4
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, O, the Oprah Magazine, Esquire, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, Real Simple, Kirkus Reviews, Electric Literature, and Lit Hub “A masterpiece.” —NPR “No other novel this year captures so gracefully the full palette of America.” —The Washington Post “Wryly funny, gently devastating.” —Entertainment Weekly 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. 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, 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.
Reviews with the most likes.
Not a lot really happens in this, per se - the big argument/conflict between Mike and Ben is before the novel starts, and is only referenced in flashback. Even Mike's section in Japan is still pretty slow/meditative. This isn't bad, it's just a change for me, since I don't read a lot of literary fiction. I did have quite a bit of feeling “oh my god, you two, just break up,” but this is so much more about character than plot, and I enjoyed the time spent really getting into each character's head. I also liked how this was about two working-class gay men of color in Houston, instead of my (kind of mean) impression of literary fiction all being about white male lit professors in New York who want to sleep with their students. I'd like to read this again to get a clearer opinion of it, and also because the writing is just beautiful.
I purchased and read this book of my own accord on release date. At a later date in early 2021, Riverhead approved an old NetGalley request I had made for a digital advanced reader copy, so I'm updating this review to reflect that.
This contemporary fiction novel is quiet and internal, but it lacks the emotional resonance of Washington's short story collection, Lot. Mostly I walked away not really caring for either Mike or Benson; I neither hated them nor loved them, and I was minimally interested in their relationship ending or continuing. Where I think Washington wanted to be spare and beautiful with his character writing, this story lacked heart.
Miserable people acting miserably towards one another. I think I just needed there to be something redeeming in the book.
2.5/5
While the book offers queer BIPOC representation and interesting plot elements, such as strained relationships, accepting change, and parent/child dynamics, the author fails to really expand on such elements. Instead, the book feels like a meandering narrative, following underdeveloped characters without much plot. The second section is more enjoyable than the first and third, if only for the fact that it feels more active in its direction. But there's not much else to take away from the story. The formatting also does not offer anything creatively; It arguably hinders the story more than helps it. Under a different writer or direction, there's a story to tell here. But in this case, there's much left to be desired.
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