Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Memorial by Bryan Washington

94 reviews

emilysamsharrisreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This novel felt almost poetic in its writing style, it is gorgeous. Memorial presented such the two main characters, queer men of colour in Texac, Mike and Benson as whole, flawed, loving, challenging characters grappling with grief, family separation (both in physical distance and emotional connection), and what to do when a relationship runs its course. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

20sidedbi's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Classism

philippmk's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

nilescrane's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I'm not sure Washington and I are compatible as author/reader, and that is a shame because his prose is lush. If you're a fan of Sally Rooney's writing you'd probably love this. I didnt dislike it, it clearly moved me a lot because I felt the sadness that was woven into the text but it's not one I'm going to reread.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent

emminkirjakasa's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 🇬🇧 A realistic and beautiful story about the lives of two men together and separately. 

The perspectives of Benson and Mike are written in a different style, which brings an interesting dimension to the book. Different men and different styles. For me, the differences in styles took some getting used to, and there was a break of more than a month in reading. 

 

🇫🇮 Todentuntuinen ja kaunis tarina kahden miehen elämästä yhdessä ja erikseen. 

Bensonin ja Miken kuvakulmat on kirjotettu eri tyylillä, joka tuo kirjaan kiinnostavan ulottuvuuden. Erilaiset miehet ja erilaiset tyylit. Minulle tyylien erot vaati hiukan tottumista, ja kuvakulmien välissä tulikin yli kuukauden tauko lukemiseen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia

karlo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was very good and somehow wholesome. the ending was slightly unsatisfying to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

spookyaz's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

laurataylor's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

madisophi's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I get why some people would really like this book, but it simply was not my cup of tea. The characters were so bad for each other and themselves, that it was kind of baffling that they had survived for so long. However, the writing style was beautiful and was what kept me hooked throughout the book. Overall, I feel like this book tried to say something, but I don’t really know what. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol