Palaver by Bryan Washington
For the first time since I started using my current rating system a year or two ago, I’m giving a book less than 3 stars. Typically, I give a book at least 3 stars if I finish it because if I’m not liking it, I’ll usually DNF. But I kept expecting this book to redeem itself. The novel follows a mother and son who are only ever referred to as “the mother” and “the son.” They have been estranged since the son moved to Japan […]
Memorial by Bryan Washington
I really need to stop ordering the lit-fic option from Book of the Month. It so very rarely ends well. The premise here is that Mike and Benson are a couple. Mike is a chef and Benson is a daycare worker. Mike’s father is dying of cancer, and so he decides one day to go to Japan to mend their relationship, leaving Benson alone in their one bedroom apartment with his visiting mother, who only arrived that morning, also from Japan. Also, their relationship is […]
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Memorial by Bryan Washington
In which it becomes clear to me that a “best of” list means next to nothing. I’m trying (and doubt I will make it) to catch up with my long backlog list from 2020 and to actually reach my goal of 52 reviews. Putting together mini-groups to review together has made this somewhat easier, and yes, I know that some of my groupings are probably random. Here we have two books that I thought were fine. I probably wouldn’t recommend them to friends, but if […]
