This is wonderful. Benson and Mike's relationship has been on the rocks for a while. They both know it but neither are willing to pull the plug. Then Mike's father gets sick and he flies off to Osaka to mend his relationship with him before it's too late. As he flies out, his mother flies in and Benson finds himself with an extremely demanding houseguest and problems of his own. Written from both men's perspective, this is quietly funny, slightly heartbreaking and beautifully nuanced.

Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese-American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson is a Black day care teacher, they have been together for a few years. Good years. There’s is sex, and Mike cooks meals for Benson and they do love each other. This story shows two very different perspectives on the same relationship: You follow Benson, a day care worker who unwittingly ends up with Mikes mother staying in their home, as Mike jets off to see his father who is slipping away from this world. Benson has to navigate his day to day life with Mikes mother, a woman who is very much her own person and believes in traditional cooking, values and refuses to open up to Benson but as they both get used to each other they start to finally get along. However, Benson also starts to question the longevity of his relationship with Mike, as new feelings creep in. Over in Japan with Mike, he has to slowly begin to recover a relationship with his father who has been aloof for many years. Mikes father owns a tiny bar, but he needs help and Mike has no choice but to pitch in if he wants to help his father ease out of his weary life, as Mike knows he won’t live much longer. But as Mike settles in with his father, he starts to question his life back home with Benson. Are they really a happy couple or is it just routine rather than love? Will they stay together or seek another path in life? Taking two sides of what appears to be a relaxed and easy relationship, you are exposed to all the facets that make up the work that it takes to keep a relationship going, even when neither side is fully committed. Raw, real, funny, emotional: Memorial is a true book for the soul. It will leave its mark upon you and I loved it!

To be honest I am not all that surprised I loved this book. I highlighted it as one of the books I wanted to read this year and it’s a book by an author whose collection of short stories “Lot” won the Dylan Thomas Prize and which I rated four stars, acknowledging the potential. This debut novel is even better. It is the story of a male couple, Benson, who is black and Mike of Japanese heritage living in Houston. Their relationship is somewhat rocky and not helped by Mike’s mother arriving from Tokyo for an extended stay on the same day Mike flies to Osaka to connect with the dying father who had deserted the family. We get two first-person narratives from Benson, sandwiched between is Mike’s experiences in Japan. Benson is left to forge a relationship with a woman he has never met as they bond over cooking, attempting to find common ground as they share the apartment whilst Mike helps out at his father’s bar, which is his potential inheritance. The couple’s relationship is tested. I was drawn in by these characters and their families. I found children’s day-care worker Benson was especially vividly drawn, Mike seems more elusive which makes some of his actions questionable (including the desertion of his mother which is central to the plot). It is less spikey than the short-story collection and provoked a real emotional response from me. It feels modern, is well-written and has provided an early reading highlight for 2021.

This novel was so good. Bryan Washington gives us a novel that is modern and fresh. Memorial follows the queer relationship between Mike and Benson and their respective families. Funny, tense, and moving, Memorial is an easy to read book with a big impact.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - the blunt writing style may not be for everyone but it is for me! The lack of punctuation was a bit challenging at first but is easy to slip into, and I think it really contributed to the themes of familiarity and relationships which the novel explores. This book is beautifully paced, with a slow lilt to it that fits perfectly the frustration of the relationships it presents. The main characters, Ben and Mike, as well as secondary characters such as Mitsuko, Eiju and even young Ahmad are well-rounded and perceptively considered. The book heartbreakingly explores ideas of interiority and the home, allowing the characters to come to terms with their imperfect relationships, both romantic and familial. It is an intimate, frustrating read that ends almost mid-story, allowing the characters the space to work through the things they cannot say, but still feel strongly.