Review: Palaver

Palaver by Bryan Washington is a story about a gay American man living in Tokyo— called only The Son, who was raised in Houston but comes from a Jamaican family. He has a messy romantic and sexual life and I sometimes had a hard time keeping his friends and partners straight in my mind. The son’s mother visits him in Japan and is referred to as The Mother. The best part of the novel, at least in my opinion, are the sections where the two are together. Washington’s true talent as a writer is his ability to describe the messy relationship between mother and son with tremendous tenderness. 

For example:

If I could find my way here, said the mother, you could certainly consider finding your way back. Haven’t you been gone long enough?

I am here now, said the son. This is home.

A city will never love you back, said the mother. People will. Family will.

I wouldn’t know shit about that, said the son.

The mother started to say something, but then she paused. The man behind the counter wandered over, with his hands together, nodding apologetically. And the son also nodded, mimicking the words, setting a handful of bills on the table.

I’ll be outside, he said. You can tell him we’re taking the drinks to go. Don’t need a translator for that.

Overall, the structure of this novel is fairly traditional, but Washington moves back and forth in narrative time with no obvious transitions or marking metadiscourse. I will admit to occasionally being confused about where I was in the timeline.

Palaver is a very well written book; however, my problem with this book is that I feel that after having read Lot and Memorial that Washington is doing very little new here. If you have never read Washington before this is an excellent book to read.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

epub. 336 pgs. 25 October 2025. Publishing 4 November 2025.