Lot

Stories of a young man finding his place among family and community in Houston, from a powerful, emerging American voice.

In the city of Houston - a sprawling, diverse microcosm of America - the son of a black mother and a Latino father is coming of age. He's working at his family's restaurant, weathering his brother's blows, resenting his older sister's absence. And discovering he likes boys.

This boy and his family experience the tumult of living in the margins, the heartbreak of ghosts, and the braveries of the human heart. The stories of others living and thriving and dying across Houston's myriad neighbourhoods are woven throughout to reveal a young woman's affair detonating across an apartment complex, a rag-tag baseball team, a group of young hustlers, the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a local drug dealer who takes a Guatemalan teen under his wing, and a reluctant chupacabra.

Bryan Washington's brilliant, viscerally drawn world leaps off the page with energy, wit, and the infinite longing of people searching for home. With soulful insight into what makes a community, a family, and a life, Lot is about love in all its unsparing and unsteady forms.

About the Author :
Bryan Washington has written for the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, The Paris Review, Boston Review, Tin House, One Story, GQ, FADER, The Awl, and Catapult. He lives in Houston, Texas.

BryWashing.com / @BryWashing

Review :
Audacious... Profound Enthralling... Subtle but bruising Gut-wrenching and powerful An astonishing debut... Extraordinary A superb book A treat and an inspiration to witness Stunning... one of the strongest literary debuts in several years. Washington cracks open a vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are aware Washington's prose sings with vibrancy Phenomenal Lot spills over with life - funny, tender, and profane Generous, powerful, deeply engrossing A brilliant display of raw talent Unflinching... a prodigious talent. Raw, soulful and moving A thrilling new voice in American fiction and one to watch Raw, empathic and wise... achingly intimate and brilliantly panoramic Will stay with you for a very long time... powerful Depicts its author's hometown of Houston with empathy, tragedy, and exceptional specificity Washington's debut reads like a love letter to Houston Empathetic and honest, tender and brutal at once, Lot quips with humour and explores grief and each stop in between. Lot feels like a living, breathing book... As debuts go, these characters and prose leap from the page. Extraordinary Lot belongs foremost to its characters, who ask to be remembered, even long after their pages have turned. [F]unny, sad, wise & very alive in the best way Stellar... a remarkable collection from a writer to watch. Brutal, raw and blisteringly brilliant... Outstanding. Compassionate, observant, tough; often funny, always authentic Visceral and raw... beautifully delicate prose... A terrific read! Ambitious but never forced... Washington makes the place sing with his sharp, rap-style lyricism.