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!

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!

*Palaver* is Bryan Washington’s most intimate and emotionally layered novel yet. Set in Tokyo, it follows a young man who's built a quiet life far from his hometown of Houston—until his estranged mother shows up after ten years apart. What follows is a deeply human story about family, forgiveness, and the messiness of reconnecting. Washington’s writing is subtle, honest, and full of heart. He captures the awkward silences and emotional weight between people who love each other but don’t always know how to say it. The Tokyo setting adds depth without stealing the show—it’s the characters and their quiet unraveling that really shine. It’s tender, thoughtful, and lingers with you in all the right ways.

This is my first time reading a novel by Bryan Washington and I have to say, he blew it out of the water. The sheer emotion in his writing is so evident and the characters felt so realistic, I could relate to their problems, their fears, and their dreams. I liked that it explored a messy family dynamic and what it means to reconcile over a difficult past. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend.

I enjoyed Bryan Washington's previous books, but this one i loved!
The son and mother reunite for the first time after a long period of silence, meeting in Tokyo where the son now lives. Slowly, they begin to reconnect and get to know each other again. As the story unfolds, the reasons behind their estrangement are gradually revealed, and we witness their careful steps toward reconciliation.

The language is very pared-down—minimalist, with lots of dialogue and almost no inner monologue. And yet, I was surprised by how deeply it moved me.

What I especially loved was the sense of community the son has built for himself in Tokyo, and the relationships he's formed with the people around him—particularly when seen through the mother's eyes.

The book is also a love letter to Japan.