Books

Book review: Family Meal offers bitter aftertaste of lost love

Bryan Washington tells a story of grief and self-destruction through three protagonists, all gay lovers

Bryan Washington: the author artfully weaves Family Meal’s story together by presenting it in separate sections told from the point of view of the three protagonists. Picture: Louis Do

“Love can be a lot of things though, says Noel. Right? It’s pleasure, but it’s also washing the dishes and sorting medication and folding the laundry . . . And it’s knowing when to speak up, and when to stay quiet, and when, I think, to move on. But also when to fight for it.”

Noel’s wholesome reflection on the enigmatic quality of love near the end of Bryan Washington’s Family Meal has a jolting ...