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.
Industry Reviews
Audacious... Profound * New York Times *
Enthralling... Subtle but bruising * Guardian *
Gut-wrenching and powerful * Cosmopolitan *
A superb book * Max Porter, author of 'Lanny' *
A treat and an inspiration to witness * Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous *
Stunning... one of the strongest literary debuts in several years. * NPR *
Washington cracks open a vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are aware * New York Times *
Washington's prose sings with vibrancy * The Rumpus *
Phenomenal * Justin Torres, author of 'We the Animals' *
Lot spills over with life - funny, tender, and profane * Entertainment Weekly *
Generous, powerful, deeply engrossing * R.O. Kwon, author of 'The Incendiaries' *
A brilliant display of raw talent * Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of 'Here Comes the Sun' *
Unflinching... a prodigious talent. * Mat Johnson, author of 'Loving Day' and 'Pym' *
Raw, soulful and moving * Jami Attenberg, author of 'The Middlesteins' *
A thrilling new voice in American fiction and one to watch * Amelia Gray, author of 'Isadora' *
Raw, empathic and wise... achingly intimate and brilliantly panoramic * Stefan Merrill Block, author of 'The Story of Forgetting' *
Will stay with you for a very long time... powerful * Jamel Brinkley, author of 'A Lucky Man' *
Depicts its author's hometown of Houston with empathy, tragedy, and exceptional specificity * Entertainment Weekly *
Washington's debut reads like a love letter to Houston * New York Times *
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. * Heather McDaid, The Skinny *
Extraordinary * Southern Living *
Lot belongs foremost to its characters, who ask to be remembered, even long after their pages have turned. * Paris Review *
[F]unny, sad, wise & very alive in the best way * Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Sisterland (Twitter) *
Stellar... a remarkable collection from a writer to watch. * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review *
Brutal, raw and blisteringly brilliant... Outstanding. * Attitude *
Compassionate, observant, tough; often funny, always authentic * The Big Issue *
Visceral and raw... beautifully delicate prose... A terrific read! * Irish Times *
