What do you think?
Rate this book
Memorial
Joan Herlihy is a semi-successful architect grasping at the illustrious commission that will catapult her to international renown, glossy decor magazines, and the luxe condo designs of Meier, Koolhaas, and the incestuous cult of contemporary Starchitects. Unexpectedly, she finds her Venice Beach firm on the short list for a coveted private memorial - a Napa billionaire's vanity tribute to relatives killed in the Christmas tsunami - with life-changing consequences. Her brother Chester clings to a failing career as a location scout before suffering an accidental injury resulting from an outrageous prank; the tragicomic repercussions lead him through a maze of addiction, delusion, paranoia ... and ultimately, transcendence.
Virtually abandoned by her family, the indomitable Marjorie Herlihy ... mother, widow, and dreamer falls prey to a confidence scheme dizzying in its sadism and complexity. And unbeknownst to Marj and her children, the father who disappeared decades ago is alive and well nearby, recently in the local news for reasons that will prove to be both his redemption and his undoing. Spiraling toward catastrophe, separate lives collide as family members make a valiant attempt to reunite and create an enduring legacy. To rewrite a ruined American dream.
Virtually abandoned by her family, the indomitable Marjorie Herlihy ... mother, widow, and dreamer falls prey to a confidence scheme dizzying in its sadism and complexity. And unbeknownst to Marj and her children, the father who disappeared decades ago is alive and well nearby, recently in the local news for reasons that will prove to be both his redemption and his undoing. Spiraling toward catastrophe, separate lives collide as family members make a valiant attempt to reunite and create an enduring legacy. To rewrite a ruined American dream.
- GenresFiction
528 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Wagner
34 books174 followersBruce Wagner is the author of The Chrysanthemum Palace (a PEN Faulkner fiction award finalist); Still Holding; I'll Let You Go (a PEN USA fiction award finalist); I'm Losing You; and Force Majeure. He lives in Los Angeles.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 31, 2012
When the shock jock cynicism made me put down Dead Stars (probably forever), Memorial delivered the dose of BW prose that I had been missing. Memorial has a soupcon of Rushdie in its stream of conscious rant bits, and a Dickensian (yeah, I hate that word too) plot. Memorial is a masterpiece, where Dead Stars reads like a rehashed, wrung-out version, battering its characters until they are fully dehumanized.
I have no desire to meet the author, or visit any dimension of his Los Angeles, but have tremendous respect for the writing. May I suggest that he get some counseling, and pretty please write some decent female characters. I think he may hate us (females of all ages).
Still, 5 stars for real characters, cliff-hanging chapters, ground-breaking structure (toward the end), and entertainment value...and a bonus star for having a moral, without rubbing it in our faces.
I have no desire to meet the author, or visit any dimension of his Los Angeles, but have tremendous respect for the writing. May I suggest that he get some counseling, and pretty please write some decent female characters. I think he may hate us (females of all ages).
Still, 5 stars for real characters, cliff-hanging chapters, ground-breaking structure (toward the end), and entertainment value...and a bonus star for having a moral, without rubbing it in our faces.
January 27, 2023
This was a gargantuan beast of a novel, packing the plot twists of a 5-season Netflix series into its 500 dense pages. There are pages-long, multiclaused sentences that basically demand an unbroken binge-read, and Wagner's attention to detail (of his protagonists' jobs, backgrounds, and lives) is intimidating, yet fitting to the characters and the story; it's kind of like a hopped-up Franzen without the arrogance, or a less didactic Rushdie without the need to make every protagonist a variation of the author himself.
The book is so "Inside LA" that I felt I needed a SoCal Cliffs Notes to understand some of the references, and so eerily Nostradamian in its contemporary references that I had to check multiple times what the original publication date was. This is a small font, 500+ page book published in 2006, so it's safe to say Wagner started writing it at least a few years before, yet there are references to Trump and his pecadillos/political aspirations, the movie "Sicko" (which came out in 2007!), opioid addiction (name-checking fentanyl?), the therapeutic use of psychedelics - besides the absence of smartphones, it feels more like a book written in the mid-2010s than the mid-2000s.
Also, be warned that you may need a thesaurus handy to decipher certain passages - captious, famulus, verbigeration, hebephrenic, inenarrable - the hits keep coming. I don't know if this novel was ever translated into another language, but if it was, I pity the poor translator who endeavored to render it equally impactful in a different tongue.
At its heart, though, this is a novel about a (very broken) family and a (very warped, very Californian) conception of the American Dream - and who can't take an interest in that? This book should have been a lot more popular than it was/is, yet at the same time (there aren't even that many reviews of it on Goodreads), it's quite easy to see why it isn't/wasn't - it's a challenging, prolix, sesquipedalian text (to put it in Wagnerian terms), and not everyone is up for that.
The book is so "Inside LA" that I felt I needed a SoCal Cliffs Notes to understand some of the references, and so eerily Nostradamian in its contemporary references that I had to check multiple times what the original publication date was. This is a small font, 500+ page book published in 2006, so it's safe to say Wagner started writing it at least a few years before, yet there are references to Trump and his pecadillos/political aspirations, the movie "Sicko" (which came out in 2007!), opioid addiction (name-checking fentanyl?), the therapeutic use of psychedelics - besides the absence of smartphones, it feels more like a book written in the mid-2010s than the mid-2000s.
Also, be warned that you may need a thesaurus handy to decipher certain passages - captious, famulus, verbigeration, hebephrenic, inenarrable - the hits keep coming. I don't know if this novel was ever translated into another language, but if it was, I pity the poor translator who endeavored to render it equally impactful in a different tongue.
At its heart, though, this is a novel about a (very broken) family and a (very warped, very Californian) conception of the American Dream - and who can't take an interest in that? This book should have been a lot more popular than it was/is, yet at the same time (there aren't even that many reviews of it on Goodreads), it's quite easy to see why it isn't/wasn't - it's a challenging, prolix, sesquipedalian text (to put it in Wagnerian terms), and not everyone is up for that.
May 12, 2025
Chatty digressions, referential gestures, and gab ridden confusions come together around a family. Coincidence and relations circle this tragic bunch. Maybe the most selfish characters ever written? Maybe the most empathetic depictions ever written, where the characters don’t even seem to understand themselves? I think Memorial lags a little in the middle, but once that confidence scheme clears the air and the pressure drops down, it becomes such a wonder of tragedy and transcendence.
September 19, 2020
Wasn't bad but weren't the greatest. An ok read
October 17, 2022
Fantastic, unique voice. However, can be a bit dense to get through at times. The architectural references are spot on.
January 15, 2008
So, I took a writing workshop in which the author teaching it reminded us to be kind to our characters -- basically warning us away from beating on them for the sake of an intense read. Bruce Wagner was obviously not taught by this guy -- he absolutely brutalizes one of his characters, and it's left me uncomfortable because I can't tell if there's some larger symbolism that absolves his authorial choices, or if he just decided to be truly gratuituous.
(There are four major narratives/characters in the book, and all of them have their ups and downs, so I don't believe this is too spoilery -- apologies if it is. By the point you figure out which character it is that I'm describing, you'll probably be squawking right along with me.)
I love his frenetic playful language and his understanding of a person's constant negotiation with themselves about who they are, what their values are, and particularly how much they truly want money without the work that's usually attendant to that desire. His theme-work regarding India and an American's obsession with exoticism is also spot on and makes the book a more interesting read.
But yeah, I'm starting People for the Ethical Treatment of Fictional Characters and Bruce Wagner is the first person we'll throw a bunch of red paint on!
(There are four major narratives/characters in the book, and all of them have their ups and downs, so I don't believe this is too spoilery -- apologies if it is. By the point you figure out which character it is that I'm describing, you'll probably be squawking right along with me.)
I love his frenetic playful language and his understanding of a person's constant negotiation with themselves about who they are, what their values are, and particularly how much they truly want money without the work that's usually attendant to that desire. His theme-work regarding India and an American's obsession with exoticism is also spot on and makes the book a more interesting read.
But yeah, I'm starting People for the Ethical Treatment of Fictional Characters and Bruce Wagner is the first person we'll throw a bunch of red paint on!
August 10, 2011
A look into the world of four estranged family members, this book is a snapshot of the travails of upper-class life and partially a reflection on Hindu spirituality.
It's not a book the ordinary citizen can necessarily relate to in its content. It is packed a little too densely with references I don't understand (regions of California, celebrities and those in high ranks), but as an architecture student, I got a kick out of many of the architecture terms and names dropped. Sardonic and fatalistic, Bruce Wagner certainly has a way with words. I found all of his wordplay interesting and intricate and well-used, though it sometimes seemed contrived within a dialogue.
If you want to read and learn about the attitudes and personal lives of a wealthy architect and her family, this is the read for you. I am more a fan of 'moral-of-the-story' type reads that convey a larger social message.
It's not a book the ordinary citizen can necessarily relate to in its content. It is packed a little too densely with references I don't understand (regions of California, celebrities and those in high ranks), but as an architecture student, I got a kick out of many of the architecture terms and names dropped. Sardonic and fatalistic, Bruce Wagner certainly has a way with words. I found all of his wordplay interesting and intricate and well-used, though it sometimes seemed contrived within a dialogue.
If you want to read and learn about the attitudes and personal lives of a wealthy architect and her family, this is the read for you. I am more a fan of 'moral-of-the-story' type reads that convey a larger social message.
December 12, 2007
This book centers on four characters, two which are unreadably annoying. Out of the remaining two, one starts entering a completely depressing path that makes me hate the world.
The book itself is frustrating as it jumps between moments of brilliance and blocks of poetic-for-the-sake-of-being-poetic paragraphs about nothing. There would sometimes be a chapter that would essentially buy a couple more chapters worth of attention for me (as in, "Wow, that was really neat, I guess I can put up with three chapters of being annoyed). Essentially, it's almost worth reading for the good parts. Almost.
The book itself is frustrating as it jumps between moments of brilliance and blocks of poetic-for-the-sake-of-being-poetic paragraphs about nothing. There would sometimes be a chapter that would essentially buy a couple more chapters worth of attention for me (as in, "Wow, that was really neat, I guess I can put up with three chapters of being annoyed). Essentially, it's almost worth reading for the good parts. Almost.
April 19, 2015
Not my favorite of Wagner's novels (see I'll Let You Go), but it does offer plenty of the author's usual biting wit, incisive social commentary--Wagner, more than any other novelist, seems to be writing his books the day before you happen to read them--and melodramatic, excruciating plot turns. He also, as usual, explores subcultures one rarely sees in novels--in this case, status-grubbing contemporary architects and chronic pain-sufferers. Wagner's love of punning and wordplay wore on me at times in this novel--even the minor characters come off like Oscar flippin' Wilde--but it's compelling nonetheless.
February 19, 2008
While this book had what can be assumed as a "happy" (or at least a sensible ending), the majority of the rest of the book was pretty much Wagner's hypnotic rant at modern America and the way we trap ourselves with the combined vices of money and self-pity.
Ray and Ghulpa were my two favorite characters, while Chester and Laxmi were truly loathsome. Wagner's continual references to India, and Indian culture was surprising but seemed to fit in and find a place with the theme of the book toward the end.
Excellent, bizarre writing..a great find.
Ray and Ghulpa were my two favorite characters, while Chester and Laxmi were truly loathsome. Wagner's continual references to India, and Indian culture was surprising but seemed to fit in and find a place with the theme of the book toward the end.
Excellent, bizarre writing..a great find.
July 10, 2008
I couldn't even finish this one. The characters were coarse and cheap, completely unsympathetic. The author writes as though he's trying to be a cool, modern writer using really hip language - but he's failed. Miserably. The style comes across as forced and fake. The whole book is so LA-centric, as if there is no other place or way of life outside that area. It's very irritating. A disappointment overall.
December 8, 2008
Better than his previous novel, mostly in attempting to reach the broad scope, the overlapping lives and narratives, of his earlier works. As other reviewers have commented, his verbal flourishes alternate between brilliant and poetic and just plain annoying... and the sadistic treatment one of his characters receives throughout the book seems... over the top to put it mildly. But ultimately fairly moving and engaging.
September 20, 2012
Puzzling... I thought I'd really like this! Is this really what people in LA are really like?
Joan is the best character for me...sexually empowered and no nonsense - maybe she could've been more vicious though!
My main bugbears with this book...the old lady strand...eeew...too, too much...really bad taste without the good writing to pull it off!
And not enough well written prose in the book as a whole....to actually tune into the emotional content!!
It is readable though!
Joan is the best character for me...sexually empowered and no nonsense - maybe she could've been more vicious though!
My main bugbears with this book...the old lady strand...eeew...too, too much...really bad taste without the good writing to pull it off!
And not enough well written prose in the book as a whole....to actually tune into the emotional content!!
It is readable though!
February 24, 2013
A 500 page opus of often irreverent (Read: Wonderful) wit and compassionatley rendered characters. Read it for the writing alone. A "karmically" convoluted tale of a fragmented, dysfunctional Los Angeles family, as told through the lives of its aging mother, long-lost father and 2 adult children that never gets boring or bogged down.
January 13, 2014
Not the best but not the worst. Would I recommend it? Probably not, it just depends on you. Some of the character development was a bit rough for me. Thee wee sections of the book that went well and others I just struggled with, overall it wasn't bad.
July 25, 2008
my favorite read so far this year. a dizzying magestic whirlwind of tradegy admist endless pop culture references. addictive.
February 23, 2016
another unusual look at LA from an expert of the city. this book had more depth than his usual ones but his books are always brilliant in their own way.
September 21, 2007
I like this book good.
Want to read
June 23, 20101st edition, signed by author; rm on bottom edge
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews