Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

Family Meal by Bryan Washington is one of those beautiful, terrible books that make every other book on your TBR seem so unappealing once you finish it. I hated to leave behind Cam and TJ and Noel, they all felt like friends by the end despite the book only being a scant 300 pages. I’ve read all of Washington’s work up to this point and I think he’s just going from strength to strength!

.

His third book (second novel) centres around Cam who is dealing with losing the love of his life. He returns to Houston from LA, finds work in a struggling gay bar and ends up face to face with his childhood best friend TJ. Cam and TJ’s chequered past is slowly revealed, and my word is this book messy. But we love a bit of mess, don’t we?? I was obsessed with Cam and TJ’s friendship, the intensity, the familiarity, the occasionally-cruel banter of childhood friends. Their friendship is a much-needed balm to Cam’s self-destructive behaviours (TW for disordered eating), which are very difficult to read about.

.

Midway through the book the perspectives shift and we hear from other characters, though mainly TJ. At first I was surprised by this choice, as I had anticipated being in Cam’s head the whole way through. But I quickly warmed to the other POVs and I thought it was a brilliant decision so we could view the relationships centred in the book from both sides. TJ allowed Washington to explore more themes through the eyes of a plus-size, pos, queer mixed race man.

.

Family Meal is gloriously messy, tender without being saccharine, a simultaneous ode to friendship and exploration of grief. Highly recommend!