This book will not be for everyone, but it was certainly for me! I adored the way this was written - the lack of first names, lack of quotation marks, and abundant use of comparisons were all *chef’s kiss*. This felt authentic and grounded. This also felt like a massive love letter to Japan.

I adored this cast of biological and found families. Everyone was messy and real. The writing brought each character to life and the dialogue was poetic.

Overall I really adored this novel and broadly recommend it! I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy once published.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for access to this work. All opinions are my own!

he’s done it again

thank you fsg and netgalley for the digital arc. i’ve quite frankly never read something this early lol

i do plan on reading this again closer to the publication date, i just couldn’t be bothered to wait until november. you’ll get my full review then, but for now you can have some highlights:

- i wanted to cry and/or throw up during multiple scenes
- bryan washington crafts characters like no one else, the tenderness and care he exhibits in his writing is truly unmatched
- all of his works are in conversation with one another, but the exploration of similar themes never feels repetitive

i loved this book, and i’m already looking forward to the reread <3

I absolutely adored this book, to the point that I think I'll pick up a physical copy when it comes out. Bryan Washington is an author I've never heard of before but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him. His prose is beautiful and the reflections he makes the reader have are even more so. His portrayl of queer themes and the complicated relationships you, especially with parents, that come from that were great. I found myself falling in love with every character and rooting for them all. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time.

A son who ran away from his family, a mom who couldn't hold his son back when he ran away. Reading Palaver was more than just a reading experience. It healed parts of me that i thought would never heal. Watching the mother exploring japan all of her own, watching the son finally reconsiling with the mother for the warmth he never got when he was a kid, tagging along with them as their bond strengthen and they confront their vulnerabilities and the deeply rooted love for each other, this book is beyond a normal read. In the bustling life of Tokyo, the mom and son, with their multicultural friends and a thousand lives unfolds a tale of the darker side of human relationships, abuse, trauma, homophobia, and the helplessness it leads us into. Watching the son growing more softer to his mom, and the mom becoming more accepting to his son's lifestyle, this book is a genuine pill of happiness.

I hope the son and the mom and his brother and his friends, they all live happy, and celebrate the lives they have!

At this point, if you’ve read one Bryan Washington book, you’ve read them all, good and bad. In Palaver, we follow “the son” and “the mother” (the Holy Spirit may appear in a direct sequel) as you’re led into this strained relationship. We learn slowly what’s led to these two feeling so distant (beyond geography — the mother visits Japan from Houston) over the 300+ pages to mixed results.

Like Washington’s “Memorial” from a few years back, we’re joining characters who are in the midst of falling apart and potentially coming together. It works here most of the time, but in other moments, feels hollow and stilted. There are other characters here too who are sometimes more interesting but don’t stick around much. Washington also continues his “no quotation marks” and flipping between past and present without warning from his other work. Mileage will vary here. Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this (very early) ARC.

Bryan Washington's "Palaver," like his previous works, explores the intersections of family, community, race, and sexuality. The story delves into percieved familial and societal obligations, highlighting the complexities of relationships.

In this novel, the son is living in Japan and teaching English when his estranged mother comes to visit. Despite a profession that revolves around communication, these two struggle to talk and connect. What is said—and what remains unsaid—carries equal weight.

The son appears to lead a mildly hedonistic and nihilistic lifestyle, which may be understandable for a gay Black man who has lost an uncle to AIDS. His mother’s visit compels him to slowly re-evaluate the relationships he has with friends, family, and lovers.

The book carries an emotional and authentic tone that resonates deeply, especially for those who have felt isolated or misunderstood by their family of origin. It reflects the quest to find one's place and a measure of happiness in the world. I recommend this moving and thought-provoking novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.

Wow, wow, wow. Another stunner from Bryan Washington; his prose is so gorgeous, haunting, and powerful. This is a beautiful story of the conception of home, found family, immigration, love, costly mistakes, and grace. I loved everything about this novel; the strained, but hopeful, relationship between the mother and son; the side characters that make Tokyo come to life; the cat; the photographs included between sections that illuminate the story. There are many types of connections explored here, from the deepest, and, at times, trickiest, kind involving love, to the kind we have with people we see regularly but might not exchange names with, and everything in between. What Washington suggests here is similar to Forster's imperative to "only connect;" in every permeation of relationship seen, no matter how difficult, no matter how ephemeral, the trying, the striving, to understand one another, and one's self, seems to be the purpose. One character says to another after a dinner together that is likely to go no further as both characters live on separate continents, "everyone in every lifetime doesn't get this....like this evening. After tonight, it'll fade into the air. It'll just be something that happened. But we'll both walk around with it, in our minds. It'll be something that lives with us. And changed us." Even what might be an inconsequential connection, given the time and distance, is worthy of pursuit.

I also love this: "That's what other people are for. They're part of the litmus test....maybe they're the ones who help us see ourselves clearer. And helping them is helping ourselves." Despite the grief and hardships these characters face, I found this to be a very hopeful novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC!

I’m genuinely torn on this one. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. If Goodreads allowed half ratings, this would be the first time I’d use one. I’m stuck somewhere between a 2.5 and 3.

The writing is minimal and distant, relying on short dialogue and subtle hints at the characters’ emotions rather than fully exploring them. The two main characters are never named, they’re only referred to only as “the mother” and “the son”. Maybe to keep the focus on their strained relationship? While their dynamic is somewhat compelling, the detached writing style made it hard to connect with them. At times, it felt more observational, as if watching their interactions from a distance rather than experiencing them firsthand.

The story shifts between past and present without warning, which does add a raw, memory like feel. But at times, the transitions feel abrupt and I personally thought they could have been smoother. The side characters felt more like background figures, existing only within their conversations. There is little backstory to them, and I found it made the story feel a bit hollow. I didn’t necessarily need more insight into the side characters themselves. But I would have liked more context about the main character’s relationship with them. Something to make their presence more meaningful.

That said, I really enjoyed the slice-of-life photos of Japan between chapters. They added a nice touch of grounding, and a visual reminder of the world the characters inhabit. In contrast to the fragmented narrative, they helped set the atmosphere and made the story feel more tangible. Plus, I really just like photos with a film feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC!

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. Chris has a life in Tokyo. He works as an English tutor, spends most nights in a gay bar, surrounded by friends and is having an affair with a married man. After not seeing his mother for ten years, she comes crashing into his life from Houston. Old animosities keep them wary of each other, so his mother decides to explore the city on her own as Chris questions some of the ruts his life may have fallen into. Told with great passion, humor and emotion as each of them find a war back to the other.