Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC!!

“Palaver” is a reflective and emotionally layered novel centered on Chris, the main narrator, and his found family in Tokyo. The unexpected arrival of his mother adds depth to the story, highlighting the tension and nuance of his relationship with his blood family. Told through dual POVs and a shifting timeline between past and present, the narrative explores identity, belonging, and the weight of personal history. While the pacing is uneven and slows in parts, Washington’s gift for crafting authentic, multifaceted characters remains evident. I especially appreciated the meditative tone of the story and its richly drawn Japanese setting.

Palaver by Bryan Washington is a beautifully written, emotionally rich exploration of connection, longing, and the complexity of human relationships. Washington’s prose is poetic yet accessible, weaving together personal stories with broader themes of identity, intimacy, and the spaces between us. Each page feels deeply personal, as if the characters are sharing their truths with you, making their struggles and joys all the more real. This is a compelling, thought-provoking read for anyone who enjoys character-driven narratives that speak to the heart.

"Palaver" by Bryan Washington has a theme and concept I really appreciate, but the execution didn’t fully land for me. The connection between the characters often felt a bit random, and there were so many missed chances for deeper, more vulnerable conversations that could’ve added more emotional weight. Side characters were thrown into the main plot in a way that felt a little chaotic, making it hard to follow at times. I did enjoy the short chapters and dialogue-heavy writing, but overall it lacked flow, clear pacing, and the depth I was hoping for.

I enjoyed the insights into certain parts of daily 'slice of life' in Japan, but felt as if there were too many characters, that some of the characterisations were done clumsily. Was something of a struggle to get through, but would be interested to see what the author writes next.

Palaver is a deeply moving exploration of familial bonds, identity, and the emotional landscapes of love and loss. At its core is the poignant relationship between a son and his mother—complex and tender. The relationship of the son and another man is also deeply complex and fascinating and really evolves throughout the novel. The son and the mother are only referred to as such. I’m a huge fan of Bryan Washington’s work and this feels like a natural evolution from his previous works.

3.75⭐
"And to think the they, too, were living their lives alongside him the whole time."

This was my first time reading a work by Bryan Washington ("Lot," "Memorial," "Family Meal") and I was quite impressed with this work. Told from the alternating focuses on a mother and her son, this story spans various locations - from Jamaica to Toronto, from Texas to Tokyo - and weaves a narrative of interconnectedness. When the mother shows up at her son's doorstep in Tokyo, the two begin to reconcile their unresolved emotional business and attempt to find a path forward.

Rather than prioritizing plot, I felt like this work focused on creating an atmospheric tale of generational conflict. Not only does Washington provide thought-provoking and gutting commentary on identity, but further evolves this when taking into consider where we are in the world. Is our self determined by where we are, where are from, or where we are going? What's more, this book also gives a new, fresh take on the discussion between birth family vs. found family and queer belonging.

The beginning was slow and steady, which is refreshing; however, there was a point where there didn't seem to be enough information given and it felt as though I was begging for context. The backstories do get fleshed out, but I felt they came a little too late for me. I was engaged, though not as engaged and enwrapped as I could have been.

Overall, though, a great addition to Washington's oeuvre and one that will tug at your heartstrings and excite your wanderlust.

Huge thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for early access to this title!

Short summary –
Palaver is a quietly powerful novel that drifts between continents and generations, following the journey of a Texas-born son of a Jamaican immigrant as he seeks belonging far from home—in the neon solitude of Tokyo. As he navigates the emotional landmines of an affair with a married Japanese man, his life is upended by the surprise arrival of his estranged mother, carrying her own unresolved past. What unfolds is a tender, richly layered narrative that slips through time and memory, exploring the mother’s Jamaican childhood, the son’s search for identity among Tokyo’s eclectic expat and queer circles, and the slow, sometimes clumsy process of healing between them. With a lyrical, meandering style that mirrors the emotional landscapes it explores, Palaver is a heartfelt meditation on culture, distance, family, and the complicated love that binds us.

I enjoyed this and this was the first for me from this author. There were parts where I cried, and the characters you can tell he created and crafted with great tenderness and care. I would read more from him in the future!

Sparse prose, rather than subtle, colors this novel of the "relationship" between a mother and son. Through the novel, crossing physical distances from Texas to Tokyo feels less arduous than spelunking through the depths of the distance between this family unit.

All that to say, I didn't love this book, but I did find certain passages quite enjoyable and cerebral. If you enjoyed the author's previous work, I think this one will work for you too.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I dnf this book at 47%. That being said I do think it’s a good book. For me it’s mostly the writing style that kept me from finishing the book. It’s written in the third person, which isn’t a problem in itself but the missing quotation marks and the constant naming of “the mother” and “the son” made it really hard for me to get into the story. I found myself skimming the book more then reading it which in turn made me not understand what was going on anymore.

I think there are a lot of people who would like the story. Especially in the queer community there are so many people who have difficult relationships with their family who probably can relate to the story. So even tho I didn’t finish the book, I do think it’s a very important story.

Thank you netgally and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quiet and introspective book, about an unnamed mother and son who have been estranged and are trying, with difficulty, to come back together, but it's a struggle on both sides due to events in the past. The book jumps around a bit in time without much context, there are no quotation marks, all the other characters do have names. I'm feeling a bit ambivalent overall about this book. I appreciate the aspect of the importance of belonging and found family, and difficult family dynamics, but didn't love it overall.

Bryan Washington’s Palaver is a quietly emotional story that explores family relationships between a mother and son, chosen communities, and the complexities of living between cultures. While it took time to fully engage with the narrative, the novel gradually found its footing.

Palaver was a bit of a slow burn for me. At first, I wasn’t totally sure where it was going, but the story grew on me—especially the relationship between the main character and his mom, if a little frustrating at times. There was something really honest about the way their dynamic unfolded, even if not everything was fully explained.

What I liked:

The mother-son stuff really hit me the more I read. Their scenes together felt raw and real, and I appreciated how their connection slowly started to rebuild.

The second half of the book worked better for me overall. The writing flowed more naturally, and the relationships in Japan—especially at the bar—felt more lived-in and meaningful.

What didn’t work as well:

The flashbacks and memories sometimes popped up out of nowhere and didn’t always seem connected to what was happening in the moment, which threw me off. They did give some additional background but not specifically for the mother son dynamic and I felt these moments affected the pacing in parts

Early on, some of the dialogue—especially between friends—felt a bit stiff or unnatural. Thankfully, that smoothed out as the story went on.

The lack of quotation marks when the characters are speaking really threw me off and took some getting used to.

By the end, I think the message is about finding your own version of family, even when the one you were born into doesn’t quite work. It wasn’t perfect, but Palaver had a quiet depth that stuck with me.

This novel felt very personal, poignant, esoteric. The first pages depict stills of the city of Tokyo, where “the son,” a protagonist who never gains a name, lives and has for the decade preceding the novel’s events. I enjoyed having the photographs as part of the experience in setting the scene throughout the story.
A Houston transplant, this novel depicts this gay man’s journey of self discovery and found family. And even that feels too simple. “The mother” makes an impulsive trip out to Japan to see him for the first time since that decade passed. To spend significant time with him after they hadn’t even called in years.
This novel not only is about the importance and beauty in found family- it’s about the growth individuals in a traditional [biological] family might undergo to find one another again. To rebuild a new relationship on authenticity, honesty, and the acceptance of imperfection we experience as part of the human condition. And there’s witty banter between the mother and the son, as well as between the son and his friends and lovers, adding a fun element to the otherwise serious and heavy energy the themes within the novel present. It explores the experience of sonder, a revelation in just how complex every individual human experience holds. There is much to the world and every individual human’s experience within it.
This book is fun. It’s serious. It’s beautiful. And it’s tragic. Though it was somewhat on the shorter side- the ebook was 204 pages- it packs an impact. I would still leave my rating at 4 out of 5 stars, though I would recommend it as strongly as my 5 star reads. I have my own nitpicky issues, which include:
-I have a lack of understanding for the narrative choice to give every character but the two protagonists a name. Why is this? There’s difficulty in defining the balance between a personalization and depersonalization of the characters’ experience through this choice.
-A rather minor character toward the end of the novel feeds a cat milk. This character is described to be a veterinary assistant and good with animals… but cats shouldn’t really have milk! A quick Internet search would show it is not recommended in a veterinary sphere, and this stereotypical “cats love milk” thing is a bit outdated (unlike much of the novels more important themes of subverting norms). I just found that bit annoying.
I am grateful to NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC, and of course, a thank you to Bryan Washington’s publishers for this, Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.

The main storyline of this book is the visit of the mother to her estranged son, who lives in Tokyo, interwoven with flashbacks to the mother's childhood in Jamaica and the son's life in Tokyo. While other characters have names, the main characters are only referred to as "the mother" and "the son", and this relationship forms the trunk of the book, as we slowly fill in the gaps of their roots. I was somewhat surprised by the way the relationship develops and feel that the reader ends up knowing the characters better than they know each other. But I enjoyed the narration style, the cast of supporting characters, and the setting; in particular, the look at Tokyo's multicultural queer community. The book ends up being a sort of narrative meditation on the many ways we love people, in actions more than words.

This was my first book of Bryan Washington’s and my first time reading a book with writing like this. It was so interesting and I quite enjoyed the almost stream of consciousness like format.

The novel details the complicated relationship between a gay son and his almost apathetic (or so it seems) Jamaican mother, during her unexpected visit to his place in Tokyo after not having contact for more than a decade.

The visit comes years after the son’s escape from his stale relationship with his family, and after his father died and his dictionary definition of a cis straight man is preferred by their mother.

The son upon moving to Tokyo was able to find comfortability or at least routine in his queer life, he “enjoyed how his hyper-visibility folded into anonymity” in the bustling city.

When his mother arrives, the story covers their walking on eggshells type of relationship. It shifts back and forth between different time periods such as when the son lived back home, before the mom moved to Texas where the son grew up, and when her best friend and brother succumbed to the reality of AIDS. Then always coming back to the present day with her in Tokyo.

I think the complicated relationship between the son and mother stems from many things: the harsh expectations of immigrant families in America and the mother’s past interactions with queerness. She was hesitant to accept her sons sexuality because of her brothers experience.

Throughout the ups and downs of the mother’s visit she ultimately came to feel neutral about the sons colorful life in Tokyo.

What a realistic and intimate story.

Thank you #NetGalley #Palaver

i really liked washington’s prior works, but this one fell a little flat for me. i’m not sure whether i buy his portrayal of japan – i don’t think one needs to live in a place to accurately describe it, but i do think it lacked nuance and depth in many ways.

I really loved the atmosphere in this one. However there were some characters I wished stuck around more. Throughout. The plot dragged a little and made the reading time just a bit longer than usual. But still an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrah, Straus & Giroux for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review before publishing.

Palaver follows the Texas-born estranged son of a Jamaican immigrant as he leaves his family behind and makes a new life for himself in Tokyo, Japan. While going through a rocky period in his relationship with a married Japanese man, his mother unexpectedly arrives in Tokyo with her own emotional baggage. The story meanders through past and present and the reader visits the mother’s childhood in Jamaica and her own family struggles, the son’s various friends and lovers in Tokyo, and the awkward but good-hearted attempts of the two to reconcile their differences and similarities into a better life for them both.

I’m not sure this book really did anything for me, overall. I neither liked nor disliked it. The lack of quotation marks around the dialogue was mildly irritating, and more than that, it served to disconnect me from the scenes, as though the characters weren’t speaking in the moment and I was only reading an echo of what they said. This might work for some styles, but Washington’s prose wasn’t quite delicate enough to pull it off. There were also so many characters and scene jumps that, while I found the cast likable and interesting enough, I never knew any of them well enough to really be invested.

That said, this book has atmospheric vibes that are easy to sink into, particularly for anyone who can relate to the experience of leaving home and creating a new life in a foreign place. The son’s life in Tokyo feels like a misty lingering in time and space with very little movement, and I think it will appeal to a limited, specific audience.

———
Is it queer? Yes, with gay, trans, and poly characters.

Is it diverse? Yes, this features characters from all over the world.

How long did it take? I spent about 5 hours reading this book.

I love how disjointed this story is, hopping back and forth between time and memories, because life can feel that way sometimes; unconnected and incongruous. I do wish there was a little more meat here to work with, more exploration into the characters wants and feelings. The short-form style is very good at the conversational aspects of this type of narrative, but it also made me feel like an outsider without any information to base these people off of. I really enjoyed this story, the family and found family themes throughout are tear-jerkingly sweet, but the stylistic omission of deep character study was lost on me.

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘palaver’ as

Unnecessary, elaborate or complex procedure
An improvised conference between two groups typically those without a shared land or culture.

This is reflected in the relationship between the son and the mother—we never know their names, and they are referred to by these terms throughout the novel. I don’t think one can conclude from the use of these words that Washington wants us to feel that the issues they are undergoing are universal; it is just to firmly establish the relationship between the two. The mother born in Jamaica has travelled from the USA to Japan to visit her son whom she has not seen for several years. The relationship is strained. The reason for this estrangement is revealed bit by bit but a lot of the misunderstanding and the conflict are understated. One never really understands the reason for the son’s leaving his home and never looking back. Yes his mother did seem to prefer the brother, Chris, more than the son but then Chris has returned from the east and is more vulnerable

Washington seems to hold the view that we need to accept that we are all broken people with faults and imperfections. However, it is in the connection between human beings that conflicts come closer to resolution, understanding and healing. It is the search for this understanding which is critical not its resolution. Inspite of the animosity between mother and son, and the son’s refusal to have a photograph taken along with his mother, he has no hesitation and instinctively comes to her rescue when she is about to be hit by a speeding vehicle even at the cost of injuring his arm.

The prose is simple and the style, lucid and limpid. The structure is more complex and moves between people and times rather unexpectedly. However, Washington does use this to stop a narrative at a crucial point and take it up some pages later building up suspense and the desire to know what comes next.

Washington also creates a vibrant and engaging picture of Japan—the people and especially the neighbourhoods and the scenery outside the big cities. The book is interspersed with very captivating photographs of streets and houses.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for sending me such a wonderful book to read and enjoy.

Another great novel by Bryan Washington. I loved the description of Tokyo and the story of a mother and her son.