‘Memorial’ By Bryan Washington c.2020, Riverhead Books $27/320 pages Many books come out in a year. Often, they’re provocative, absorbing or, at the very least, brain candy.
But, like a hastily eaten fast-food meal, they’re quickly forgotten. No matter how worthy, memories of them will vanish as quickly as a fun size pack of M&Ms. “Memorial,” the debut novel by acclaimed queer author Bryan Washington, is unforgettable.
You’ll devour it, feasting on every page. Its flavor — tender, spicy, and poignant – will stick to your palate leaving you hungering for more. “Memorial” is the story of Ben (short for Benson) and Mike, a queer couple, who live in Houston’s slowly gentrifying Third Ward.