Memorial

Bryan Washington

Penguin US

Family Meal

Riverhead Books

ZYZZYVA #118 THE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE: Including fiction from Bryan Washington, Lysley Tenorio, Elizabeth Reichert, Santiago José Sánchez, Mark Chiusano. Plus new stories by Peter Orner and Kristen Iskandrian. Nonfiction from Lauren Markham and Dave Madden. Poetry by Meg Hurtado Bloom, Lisa Higgs, Troy Jollimore, Debora Kuan, Jennifer Richter, Dujie Tahat, John Sibley Williams, and Emma Windsor Wood. Art by Anne Siems. ZYZZYVA was founded in 1985 in San Francisco with the goal of publishing a superb literary journal shining a spotlight on West Coast poets, writers, and artists from a wide range of backgrounds, many of whom were otherwise overlooked by established publications, and providing them with a much needed platform. Since then, the journal has evolved into a nationally distributed, widely acclaimed publication showcasing contributors from across the country and around the world. As the journal marks 35 years of continuous publishing in 2020, we celebrate more than three decades of enriching contemporary literature and supporting literary communities in the Bay Area and beyond.

Zyzzyva #118: THE 35th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

Literature & Fiction

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Meg Hurtado Bloom

Kristen Iskandrian

Debora Kuan

United States

Zyzzyva Inc

Lot is not your typical short story collection. Set to the background of a predominantly Black and Latin neighbourhood in Houston, Texas, most chapters follow the main character and his family while some are about other, slightly related inhabitants of the city. Bryan Washington's writing feels as if you're punched in the face and then given a soft kiss on the cheek by the same person. In the world he vividly describes, not being masculine enough and liking boys makes you a 'maricón', the slur being written in between lines as if it doesn't hurt to be called names. In a 2020 interview with the Guardian Bryan Washington said: "There was a deeply conscious effort on my end not to write a coming out story but [to observe] the ways in which you continue to come out." Not only has he succeeded in doing that, he has also written a beautiful observation of the many other aspects of people working, loving, cheating, fighting, moving and sometimes just being.

Genre Fiction

Atlantic PBS

A funny, sexy, profound dramedy about two young people at a crossroads in their relationship and the limits of love.\nBenson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston. Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant and Benson's a Black day care teacher, and they've been together for a few years -- good years -- but now they're not sure why they're still a couple. There's the sex, sure, and the meals Mike cooks for Benson, and, well, they love each other.\nBut when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives in Texas for a visit, Mike picks up and flies across the world to say goodbye. In Japan he undergoes an extraordinary transformation, discovering the truth about his family and his past. Back home, Mitsuko and Benson are stuck living together as unconventional roommates, an absurd domestic situation that ends up meaning more to each of them than they ever could have predicted. Without Mike's immediate pull, Benson begins to push outwards, realizing he might just know what he wants out of life and have the goods to get it.\nBoth men will change in ways that will either make them stronger together, or fracture everything they've ever known. And just maybe they'll all be okay in the end. Memorial is a funny and profound story about family in all its strange forms, joyful and hard-won vulnerability, becoming who you're supposed to be, and the limits of love.

ATLANTIC BOOKS *

A novel about two young men who grew up together, fell away from each other, and then collide again after a crisis…\nGrowing up, TJ was Cam’s boy next door. When Cam needed a home, TJ’s parents took him in. Their family bakery became Cam’s safe place… until he left. Years later, Cam’s world is falling apart. The love of his life is dead and Cam’s not sure he’s ready to let go of him, but when he has a chance to return to his home town he takes it. Back in the same place as TJ, they circle each other warily, TJ unsure how to navigate Cam – utterly cool, completely devastated and self-destructive – crashing back into his world.

Family Meal: 'This novel will break your heart twice over'

Kein + Aber

Racconti Edizioni

Girl Woman Other, Lot, Queenie 3 Books Collection Set

Candice Carty-Williams

Bernardine Evaristo

Penguin/Atlantic Books/Trapeze

Pranzo di famiglia

NN Editore

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bryan Washington. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bryan Washington