Washington : Bless! The novel’s punctuated by silences and the creases between silences, whether they’re gaps in conversation or actions. 1 comfort foods, so reading your essay about that in The New Yorker was an indescribably delicious treat for this Jamaican transplant. Exploring that simultaneity was important to me.ĪrtsATL : What is it about food that interests you and makes it central in so much of your storytelling ? By the way, ackee and salt fish are my No. And for all of them, it’s a few things simultaneously. For others, it’s a person or a place or a specific point in time.

In the novel, home means many different things to the characters. Washington : I’m the least qualified person to answer this, but the question of “home,” and what home can look like and the many different ways it can change seems to pop up pretty often. But, among other things, it’s mostly a book about trying to be OK.ĪrtsATL : Has there been a through line in your work as a novelist, essayist, cultural critic and short-story writer? How does it manifest in Memorial ?

My editor calls it a “rom-com with teeth,” which I adore. I’ve called it a gay slacker dramedy and a traumedy. In advance, he shared his thoughts via email on family, food and the question of home via email.ĪrtsAT L: What is your elevator pitch for Memorial ?īryan Washington : It depends on who I’m talking to. He’ll discuss Memorial in a virtual conversation November 19 via the Atlanta History Center, which I’ll moderator. Washington, a Houston native, has written for such publications as The Paris Review, The New Yorker, The New York Times and GQ. As Mike discovers long-buried family truths, the odd couple left behind leads Benson to a deeper understanding of the in-between places where he’s most at home. When Mike learns his estranged father is dying in Osaka, he departs for Japan - leaving his visiting mother, Mitsuko, in Houston with Benson. His story chronicles the relationship between Mike, a Japanese American chef, and Benson, a Black day-care teacher. It’s rare for a single work of fiction to be excerpted in publications like The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly, but Bryan Washington ‘s debut novel, Memorial (Riverhead Books, 320 pages, has found a sweet spot among the literati and glitterati of publishing and popular culture.

Memorial bryan washington