In Bryan Washington's "Lot: Stories", the Town of Houston Becomes an Uncanny Storyteller.

I remember having a conversation with an IG friend, Jacky, about this book some time last year, and she mentioned how much she enjoyed it because of the voice that the author used and how different it is to most short story collections. I agree. Lot is such a beautyful journey into story, I wanted so badly to just keep reading and not finish it because it was just so well-written. Having read another book by Bryan Washington titled Memorial, my earlier deduction that he writes with a voice so beautyful and poetic, at the same time poignant and confrontational, it invokes the writings of Ocean Vuong, it's uncanny. Set in different parts of Houston and centered around the lives of the Black, brown and Latinx people who live there. These people are marginalised, erased and sidelined by many factors—both immediate and beyond their control. The collection is rooted in the humanity and the variedness of not only the people and their lives, the faces and bodies they occupy—young queer people coming into their own, youngsters forced into situations beyond their means, families having to wade the tides of change amidst a crisis—but the place itself. The stories, although set in different parts, are all interlinked by one big voice. It humanises Houston and highlights the importance of community. The last time I read a book that resembled, to me, a kind of love letter to a place was when I read Keletso Mopai’s If You Keep Digging and Aaron Foley's Boys Come First. These authors wrote about their hometowns with pride, honesty and the vividness of one who’s come to see their world as it is and invites others to do the same. It is almost as though this place they have written about takes a centre stage and is a character in this world they have come to create. But be aware, Lot is not an easy read. It is beautyful, yes; but it is just as gutting and raw, you need to come at it ready since it deals with themes such as homophobia, HIV, death and natural disasters and depicts many forms of violence, too. It’s hard to select which stories I loved more than others since they all moved me a certain way, but if I had to, I’d say that Alief is the one I think about the most. If you've happened to read Lot: Stories, let me know in the comments which story resonated with you. I'd love to chat about it.