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BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Hello and welcome to a new year in writing, a year when the transport challenges and entertainment

reading offers feel more valuable than ever.

Today we consider a handful of books that provide all those things, two novels that take experimental approaches to difficult subjects, and more comfortingly, gathering words for winter days in the pages of Natalie Haynes' favourite childhood book. But first, Brian Washington. He's a young writer from Houston, still in his 20s, who has already made a significant mark on the literary world.

His collection of short stories, Lott, won last year's Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction.

Now he publishes his first novel, Memorial, in which he tells the story of Mike and Benson,

lovers whose relationship is brought to crisis point

when Mike flies to Osaka to tend to his dying father,

precisely when Mike's mother, Mitsuko,

arrives to spend time, or so she thought, with her son.

I'm happy to say, Brian Washington joins me now on the line from Houston.

Brian, welcome to Open Book.

Thank you so much for having me.

From the outset, Benson and Mike's relationship,

I think it's fair to say, isn't in the best place?

And although you start telling the story from Benson's point of view,

...