Memorial by Bryan Washington

Benson and Mike are two young guys who have 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. But when Mike finds out his estranged father is dying in Osaka just as his acerbic Japanese mother, Mitsuko, arrives 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, while 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...

Funny and profound, Memorial is about family in all its strange forms, becoming who you're supposed to be and the outer limits of love.

What's it about?

An on and off and possibly on relationship between the two characters while they individually reconcile their relationships with their fathers, themselves, and each other.

What is it?

A slow character exploration. Even the moments of emotional drama have a muted quality to them.

What isn't it?

A romance. You aren't going to be rooting for these characters to figure themselves out and get back together.

Why do you recommend it?

Because it has a gentle honesty to it. Because it's queer without being solely about queer pain. Because it offers a perspective I hadn't read before.

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