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1.63k reviews for:

Blackouts

Justin Torres

3.91 AVERAGE

arimarz's review

3.0

Not my favorite, but well written

words_and_warren's review

3.75
dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A stylistically fascinating and arresting piece of literature that blends history, queer studies, and erasure poetry. 

sarahali's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing
Plot or Character Driven: Character

i didn’t want this book to end!!! i borrowed it from the library but i think i’ll definitely order a copy for myself and reread a few times. i was really mesmerised by torres’ writing and completely absorbed into the relationship between the narrator and juan. i loved all the different styles of storytelling and non fiction weaved into the book. it’s hard to put into words all the things i loved about it! 10/10
gingrreads's profile picture

gingrreads's review

4.0
dark emotional reflective slow-paced
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kalagrace's review

4.0
challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A deeply fascinating work of literature. Explores story, history, narrative, and memory. The author says in this interview (https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205582268/blackouts-justin-torres-queer-history) that he wants the reader to “sit with the ambiguity” and I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about this book, its implications, and the things that get erased, obscured, misinterpreted, and lost—especially from marginalized communities—purposefully or accidentally through time, and what we make of what remains for a very long time. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

leito18's review

4.75

took the whole book to fall in love with these characters and by the time i had so entirely and id reached the end i was so moved i just set the book down and sobbed.
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afropxks's review

4.5
challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
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fakestginger's review

4.25
challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

from a certain distance, the catastrophic must be indistinguishable from the sublime

what an incredible book! seriously so unique and such an incredible meditation on the means and methods of queer history keeping, what makes our stories one and many, and how lives blend together

i’d shuffle between the two in search of collections— stories and poetry. i'd lost patience for novels. i did not want to die in the middle of a novel. i wanted only endings, last lines, goodbyes, and reunions. i wondered how might things end for me; how would it read, the final sentence of my life?

also felt really seen by some of the lesbian stories included 

a perverted maternal complex. I don't like babies
they are very tiny, like bugs.

chrisbrook's review

3.0

Felt like I was off in the deep end with this book, which mines queer history through erasure poetry - hence the title, Blackouts - and hazy fever dreams. The New York Times book review said "the supreme pleasure of the book is its slow obliteration of any firm idea of reality" and that is certainly the case here; it's hard to disseminate what's going on half the time and mostly, that made me feel like this was over my head. Appreciate what's happening here - a hybrid of redacted academic papers, sexology images, and prose - just didn't fully appreciate the total package.