Book Review: "Memorial" by Bryan Washington
“Memorial” by Bryan Washington
Synopsis: 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.
Rating (out of 5): 4.5
Review: This book has (rightfully) received a ton of buzz and rave reviews, and I’m alarmed and amazed that Bryan Washington is only 28—I am thrilled that we have years and years of writing to come from him. Washington’s age lends a sense of authenticity to the young characters’ behavior. So often, even in wonderful literary novels, characters speak and act in ways completely incongruent with actual young people today: not so in this one.
The book opens with Ben finding out that as soon as Mike’s mother arrives from Japan, he will be taking off to Osaka to care for his estranged dying father, leaving Ben with Mitsuko. The first section of the novel Ben is adjusting to her constant presence in the one-bedroom apartment. Ben is a closed-off person (and we learn a great deal about why), and Mitsuko is outright acerbic. This was perhaps my favorite section, with their eventual coming to terms with each other.
Mike, the more gregarious (and sexually profligate) of the two, makes decisions that seem almost callous to Ben. His taking off to Osaka, while understandable, is deeply hurtful to Mitsuko and Ben. The section with Mike in Osaka was slightly less compelling then Benson’s narrative, but still a powerful story of repairing a parent/child relationship.
The book’s conclusion is lovely and hopeful without being remotely cheesy or maudlin. We’re left with uncertainty about the future of all involved, but with assurance that major repair has been made in all the central relationships. It’s an incredibly beautiful and honest ending.
TL;DR: A novel by a young author that is more than worth the hype. Rife with wounded people wounding each other, but ending with great hope.
If you liked this, try:
“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong (Bookshop | Kindle)
“What Belongs to You” by Garth Greenwell (Bookshop | Kindle)
“Dancer From the Dance” by Andrew Holleran (Bookshop | Kindle)
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