1.62k reviews for:

Blackouts

Justin Torres

3.91 AVERAGE

michellecosm's review

4.75
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
andalsowithdru's profile picture

andalsowithdru's review

4.0
dark emotional fast-paced

StoryGraph was right. Too literary/introspective. The writing was good, but nothing happens. 
tyrannosaurus_lex's profile picture

tyrannosaurus_lex's review

3.5

Fascinating read with incredibly creative storytelling. Even so, it was difficult for me to delve fully in. Probably worth a reread. 
emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mb_sc's review

3.0

A bit too experimental for my liking — I misunderstood what exactly kind of story I was getting myself into. The parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. There were also parts that I felt were trying to be artistic, but failed to stick the landing. The ending left a lot to be desired in my opinion - perhaps because I initially thought the book would be Nene actually going to learn more about “Sex Variants” instead of listening to Juan’s last testament. My bad. Glad I read it, certainly, but it would be somewhat difficult for me to recommend with first giving my friends a brief overview of queer history (or a list of Wikipedia articles to read at the very least).
challenging informative reflective relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
indiealtpdx's profile picture

indiealtpdx's review

4.0

Haven’t read something that deconstructs and reconstructs storytelling in this way since Machado’s In the Dream House. Not even sure how to classify it. Is it an autobiography? A historical book? A screenplay? A novel? A collection of poetry? Or all of the above? Justin Torres insists “Blackouts is a work of fiction”, and perhaps that is the best descriptor, as it allows the story to live its many truths and untruths freely