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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The main characters also experience literal memory blackouts that influence the narrative, which makes it a bit tricky to follow at some points, but if you take the time to math it out, you can make a decent timeline of important dates and the characters’ ages. Sometimes it is tricky to tell what is a memory and what is a dream/hope/wish/fear/desire, which is an intentional stylistic choice, but one that I don’t personally like.
One aspect I don’t like about any book—not just this one—is when a book just ends without closure or a hint at closure. I can’t stand it when the narrative does a hard cut into acknowledgments.
Though just because this book isn’t stylistically my jam, I would still recommend reading it.
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Child abuse, Outing, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Ableism, Chronic illness, Dementia, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Homophobia
takecoverbooksptbo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There are so many different types of love explored in the novel: friendship, romance, familial love, carnality, love of art, romanticization of the past, care work, among many others. While it's not a clear-eyed novel whose beginning-middle-end structure is immediately satisfying, the miasmal atmosphere and haunting presences of the book resonate far beyond its conclusion.
In a way, Torres gives us a ghost story, but, in another way, Blackouts could be considered a truthful synopsis of our mediated existence. A novel of ideas, it asks, what is biographical or personal truth when it can only ever be revealed through the cleaning-up process of storytelling? Is the past meaningless in the face of an inexhaustible present? Or, alternatively, is the past the only thing that can bestow meaning, given that our personhood can only be defined by the collage of memory and documentation that exists to tell us who we are? Torres doesn't embark on the journey to answer these questions, but to get the reader to think about them, to meditate upon our fragile bodies in relation to the deep time of our actions.
Blackouts is a remarkable book, but it's certainly not for everyone. At times, its elliptical structure gets in the way of the story being told, and the characters floating through the narrative seem too vaporous to picture without the substantial archival material bound up with the text. Having said that, I think most who pick it up will find something to love.
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Mental illness
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death, Homophobia, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
mirandyli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Drug use, Infidelity, Biphobia, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Racism, Addiction, Homophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, Homophobia, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Violence, Abandonment, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
drowsyowl's review against another edition
It's just not for me 😞
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization
mmccombs's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Death, Racism, and Mental illness
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, and Infidelity