Book Report/Review Family Meal – Bryan Washington

I was writing these book reviews for every book I read from 2021-2024; I’ll return to the practice again. In 2024, I started recording little audio essays to go with the reviews. I’m sharing one of them here. Maybe I’ll share more, maybe not. I wrote this in March of 2024. I recorded the audio in the summer of 2024. My brother, Kamari provided the intro music.

Family Meal

I finished this book sitting with my small dog on my couch in Houston. My dog is my best friend in this friendly city. I’m deeply lonely out here though the city leaves a kind of dumbstruck grin on my face all the time. Houston is diverse in the way that I rarely see and accept as a Black woman who is tired of the D word. 

Before I moved to Houston, I had a small going away and my friend gave me a book I’d already read, Memorial by Bryan Washington. I loved the book but it gutted me. It was about a couple who were moving apart and it felt a bit too close to home. They quickly reminded me “It’s set in Houston!” I’d forgotten. I went into Family Meal ready to learn more about this unique sprawling jungle, Houston. 

I’m also having trouble eating. That’s not new for me. Anxiety kills my appetite. I went to my doctor and was prescribed a new drug that I think keeps me from drinking (ask me how I know). At home, any of my homes, my family keeps me eating and leaving my house and smiling. I went into Family Meal craving a… family meal. 

The book follows Cam, TJ and Kai. Three gay men connected by love. Cam and TJ grew up together; TJ’s family taking Cam in after both of his parents died. Kai fell in love with Cam. The book is sexy and takes place truly in the valley of the shadow of death. The characters contend with what staying or going means to each. TJ and Cam grew up working in TJ’s family bakery. It’s growing in the face of rampant gentrification in Houston’s Heights neighborhood. 

I drove through the Heights today to buy a bike rack (that didn’t really work). I wondered what it looked like in the memory of TJ and Cam. I saw a couple of gay friends beaming while walking down the street and thought of TJ and Cam. TJ’s parents Jin and Mae, who TJ refers to by their first name, feel like a dream set of parents but not in the stepford way. They give their child a lot of space to share or conceal. They wrap Cam in their family without any expectation. I read this book bracing myself for an abrupt end. I still remember how I felt after reading Memorial (one of Washington’s earlier novels).