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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Blackouts is so many things and, through it, Justin Torres gives us a ride of a lifetime.
Tender is the first word that came to mind in thinking about how this book made me feel. The relationship between 'nene and Juan is one of such immense love that floods the pages especially as we reach his end; through it we are shown the range and potential of intermale experience - father-son, teacher-student, potential (and teasing, even past) lovers, friends, brothers, soldiers.
A beautiful retelling of gay history aside, Blackouts offers a philosophical alternative to the blackout as erasure or violence and instead as an ever present, pervasive occurrence - voluntary and involuntary. In living, we make choices on what to remember, what to forget or redact, what to document, and what to leave behind; sometimes these acts are not choices. In living, we understand we may and will never understand the entirety of existence or achieve "truth", but we learn to pick up the pieces, read between (and maybe beneath) the lines (or ignore them altogether), and make beauty of what we have and what's left to be had.
I loved Blackouts. What a novel of beauty.
Separately though, justice for Liam. T_T
Further Reading:
Tender is the first word that came to mind in thinking about how this book made me feel. The relationship between 'nene and Juan is one of such immense love that floods the pages especially as we reach his end; through it we are shown the range and potential of intermale experience - father-son, teacher-student, potential (and teasing, even past) lovers, friends, brothers, soldiers.
A beautiful retelling of gay history aside, Blackouts offers a philosophical alternative to the blackout as erasure or violence and instead as an ever present, pervasive occurrence - voluntary and involuntary. In living, we make choices on what to remember, what to forget or redact, what to document, and what to leave behind; sometimes these acts are not choices. In living, we understand we may and will never understand the entirety of existence or achieve "truth", but we learn to pick up the pieces, read between (and maybe beneath) the lines (or ignore them altogether), and make beauty of what we have and what's left to be had.
I loved Blackouts. What a novel of beauty.
Separately though, justice for Liam. T_T
Further Reading:
- Autobiography of X, Catherine Lacey
- Tripmaster Monkey, Maxine Hong Kingston (not necessarily a recommendation)
- M Train, Patti Smith
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
I didnt understand the great ratings of this book until I finished it and am sobbing. Highly recommend this book to anyone queer and especially POC.
grateful for my teachers in kindergarten who taught me how to read, so i could one day read this book. truly one of the most magnificent books i’ve ever read, justin torres deserves every award and more for this.
i wish i could rewrite my senior capstone from college so i could include him as part of this canon of puerto rican writers of the diaspora. william carlos williams and juan rulfo would be soooo proud of his contemporary modernist novel (reading this in the midst of my pedro paramo phase is insane)
i wish i could rewrite my senior capstone from college so i could include him as part of this canon of puerto rican writers of the diaspora. william carlos williams and juan rulfo would be soooo proud of his contemporary modernist novel (reading this in the midst of my pedro paramo phase is insane)
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No