My ten before the end got hijacked by library holds, so who knows what the last few days of 2025 will bring reading wise. I just finished another National Book Award finalist – Bryan Washington’s Palaver (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2025). This is my first Washington; Memorial has been on my “to be put on my to be read” stack for a while, but it never happened. I really enjoyed Palaver.
The novel centers around “the son” and “the mother.” The son is an English tutor in Tokyo and his chosen family, which includes a complex cast of characters and relationships, including one with a married man. The son is estranged from his mother and homophobic brother. He drinks a lot and has panic attacks and suicidal ideation. The “mother” is Jamaican and works at a dentist office in Texas. When the “son” calls her after years of silence, she immediately makes arrangements to go to him believing something is wrong. (It was.) Once she is Tokyo, they work at rebuilding their relationship while also dealing independently with the past and choices made. While the son is the main character, I think the mother took center stage. Her memories of her brother and best friend are caked in such emotion.
The novel is tender and hilarious, full of an intimate charm that brings you in as a welcomed part of the lives of the mother and son. There aren’t easy answers or ready forgiveness, but there’s growth and an understanding of the scar tissue each carry. It’s such a well-done novel full of heart while not holding back any punches. (and the sections are split up with gorgeous photography)
A Girl Named Tommi 