Family Meal
'This novel will break your heart twice over'
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Atlantic Books
Published:12th Oct '23
Should be back in stock very soon
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback - Signed Bookplate Edition£17.99(9781838954444-SB)
This novel delves into the lives of two friends, TJ and Cam, as they confront their shared past and navigate the complexities of love and loss in Family Meal.
In Family Meal, the story revolves around two young men, TJ and Cam, whose lives are intertwined from childhood. Growing up as neighbors, their bond deepens when TJ's family takes Cam in during a turbulent time in his life. The bakery run by TJ's parents becomes a sanctuary for Cam, where he finds comfort and stability. However, as they grow older, the paths of these two friends diverge, leading to a painful separation that leaves lasting scars on both of them.
Years later, Cam returns to his hometown, grappling with the loss of his partner, Kai. Haunted by memories and unresolved feelings, he seeks solace in the familiar surroundings of his past. He finds himself back in the orbit of TJ, who has also changed significantly. The dynamics of their relationship are charged with tension as they navigate the complexities of their shared history and the emotional baggage they carry. Their interactions are filled with both humor and heartache, reflecting the deep-seated connections that can both uplift and wound.
Family Meal is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the intricacies of friendship. It highlights how those who have known us the longest can impact our lives in profound ways, for better or worse. Through shared meals, conversations, and the act of simply being present, TJ and Cam rediscover what it means to support one another, even amid personal struggles and the ghosts of their pasts.
Masterful... Washington lays it all out with the control and artistry of a ballet choreographer * New York Times *
Bryan Washington speaks for people who have too long been silenced, and the voice he has found for them is defiant, compassionate, decent and profoundly human -- Damon Galgut * Times Literary Supplement *
A beautiful novel... Sensual, sometimes sad, ultimately hopeful * The Telegraph *
A sensual immersion in loss, grief food and sex. Compelling... Deeply felt... Beautiful * Financial Times *
Achingly and beautifully etched... Washington has a profound capacity to face the cruelty and pain of contemporary American life while offering his characters - and his readers - space for self-forgiveness, hope and nourishment * Washington Post *
One of the best books I've read this year. Truly masterful * Roxane Gay, author of Difficult Women *
Family Meal is filled with love-for the sensual pleasure of life, the places that we call home, the beauty of the people around us. This novel will break your heart twice over, with sadness, sure, but more unexpectedly, with joy. It takes a generous writer to show us the world in this way, and Bryan Washington is one of our best.
A joy. So sensual about food, sex and the physicality of grief... Absolutely irresistible * Jenny Mustard, author of Okay Days *
Family Meal is everything that Bryan Washington's work has promised so far: a fiercely written, by turns heartbreaking, terrifying and horny gaze on American masculinity, friendship and love, always with a clear sense of place and environment. Its take on grief and desire, of selfishness and generosity, and of the ways in which the Black masc body might be dismantled, or caressed, is sex-positive and thrillingly true-to-life. I found refuge in it, and will always fall hard on anything Washington writes. * Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk *
Brimming with food, sex, joy, intimacy, hella specific jokes, and the broken tools that we inherit to save our lives, Family Meal is nourishment. An absolutely gorgeous book. * Mary H.K. Choi, author of Yolk *
ISBN: 9781838954444
Dimensions: 234mm x 153mm x 22mm
Weight: 524g
320 pages
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