Reviews

Memorial by Bryan Washington

lisanreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Bryan Washington portrays Houston better than anyone else. His sense of place is incredible. Seeing a complicated relationship was a brilliant idea, and I loved the focus on food.

allisonmadrazo's review against another edition

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4.0

I really enjoyed this one. A slow burn relationship with so much depth of culture and family. Pacing was incredible. Heart aches.

kingphilwith1l's review against another edition

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2.0

not my cup of tea, but someone has to drink it. I really liked the story and the theme, but the style of basically no punctuation is not for me. Often times during conversations I was left confused as to if it was dialogue, and if it was dialogue then which character was speaking. Minus that it was a nice summer read.

sdefelice's review against another edition

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4.0

Interesting characters. I liked the structure of the writing.

karenbenedetto's review against another edition

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2.0

I am decidedly in the minority on this one. The whole thing left me cold and wondering what compelled me to finish it other than my own stubbornness. Really quite an "UGH".

kelsey_jones's review against another edition

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

4.0

wormsinmysalad's review against another edition

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4.0

Excellent love story told from two perspectives. Washington was able to pack a great deal into this novel--race, sexuality, long term illness, longing for the past, decisions made in the present--and was able to set the story in two countries without any momentum being lost in either character's setting. The dialogue was sometimes hard to follow on audio but it was worth the listen.

paulhill53's review against another edition

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5.0

Complex and beautifully written book. So glad I read it - now I have to read some of his other work. Warning: Reading the book makes you hungry for Japanese food - like watching the film "Tampopo".

jillybebe's review against another edition

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4.0

Novel, refreshing, at times disjointed, but always provocative. A new type of fiction about Black and Asian loving. However both characters are deeply damaged and dysfunctional.

kwaters2008's review against another edition

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5.0

This was one such a lovely story of love, loss, and difficult choices.