"Francis was my older brother. His was a name a toughened kid might boast of knowing, or a name a parent might pronounce in warning. But before all of this, he was the shoulder pressed against me bare and warm, that body always just a skin away."

This is a brilliant, beautiful, soul-destroying book. The writing is very strong and the non-linear narrative is very well-crafted, and I adored the central relationship between brothers Michael and Francis, which is portrayed with such honesty and devastation. There's also a super interesting set of side characters and so many other important relationships are explored too.

This book provides so much to think about and reflect upon in its themes of grief, trauma, familial expectations, living as an immigrant, poverty, race, sexuality, police violence, and friendship and community, and it's one that I'm sure will stay with me for a long time.

My only criticism is that I struggled to feel connected to the time period. Most of the book is set during the 1980s and 1990s, but for reasons I can't quite articulate, it felt very contemporary and I honestly wouldn't have batted an eyelid if every word had been the same but it had been set today. I'd still highly, highly recommend it though, as everything else about it is so fantastic and brutal and important and devastating.