Memorial

Bryan Washington’s Memorial is the story of two gay men, Benson and Mike. They live together in Houston, where Benson, a Black man, works for a day care and Mike, a Japanese man, works at a Mexican restaurant. When Mike finds out his estranged father has stage four cancer, he decides to fly to Osaka to be with him — just as his mom, Mitsuko, has flown from Japan to stay with the couple in Houston. So leaves Benson and Mitsuko to navigate a weird living situation, and Mike to navigate what his father means to him. Washington explained “it’s a book about trying to navigate the creases a life can hold, and just trying to be okay.” And oh boy does it deliver: Washington creates two men so real it feels like even though the book ended, they will keep on living and figuring it out and making mistakes and falling down and getting back up again. At its heart, it is the story of a complicated relationship — and two men trying to navigate the cards that life has dealt them.

“Very quiet concerns are what I’m significantly more interested in,” Washington said. “Whenever I try to make a big declarative statement, my head freezes up. I’m much more comfortable in quieter spaces and in quieter moments.”

Rating: ★★★★★