Bryan Washington’s debut short story collection Lot, has received rave reviews from the New York Times, NPR and other reputed publications and even from beloved former president Barack Obama, variously calling it as “revealing Houston’s hidden borders”, “giving meaning to family and relationships”, and “wistful and poetic”. 

I didn’t find Lot to be any of those.

The stories, all titled by various Houston neighborhoods in which they occur, are told from the perspective of inner city Houston residents—more than half of the stories narrated by a gay, biracial youngster “too dark for the blancos, too Latin for the blacks”, which lends some continuity to the stories. The narrative style is raw and visceral, but easy to read, and refreshingly in the voices of those living in the underbelly of Houston, amidst crime, drugs and prostitution—all people of color, with their humanity still shining through. This is a far cry from experiences most privileged readers like myself have which make these stories a window into a grimy world that feels alien yet not unimaginable.

What the stories lack though is the creation of any emotional connection with the reader. Mr. Washington does not make us privy to the inner thoughts, motivations and aspirations of the characters. How do they reconcile their lives with their desires? More importantly, what is it that they want? Or are we to accept that the hard and unpredictable lives they lead leave them stultified with no ability to feel more than what the moment allows for, apathetic to the future? Nor does he provide enough context or details of their lives. Information is sparingly doled out through the pages which in the collective still falls short of a meaningful excursion into the lives of the characters he has created. 

NPR says “Perhaps the most important character in Lot is Houston itself .” But the book does not seem to describe anything unique about Houston. There’s nothing particular about the multi ethnic neighborhoods or the dynamics contained therein revealed in the stories. In fact, these stories could as well be set in one of many other American cities—the life of the colored poor is not fundamentally different in Houston and if it is, Mr. Washington has not shed special light on how.

While the book was a refreshing change of pace to the others I have read recently, I come away dissatisfied and disinclined to agree with the plaudits this book has received.