My Review of Lot by Bryan Washington

Lot by Bryan Washington is a searingly authentic debut which I found amazing. The language is colloquial and pulls no punches and is not for the faint hearted but definitely for me. There's a rawness to the prose which is both visceral and refreshing. The recurring narrator

Washington tips us into a contemporary world of an impoverished Houston, Texas. It's a world completely removed from most people's experience including mine. There's a racial hierarchy with Mexicans at the bottom and it's a society where homosexuality is seen as somehow abhorrent. Washington tackles these prejudices and and allows the racists and homophobes to condemn themselves with their own words. The narrator engrosses the reader as he slowly finds a way to survive and consider whether his life is really his 'lot'.

I can easily see why Lot is on of Barack Obama's favourite books of the year.