theythemsam 's review for:

Blackouts by Justin Torres

4.5

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The way Justin weaves together fact and fiction together to tell the story of how eugenics was used to try and explain away homosexuality and sexual variants, while also delving into the relationships these two main characters had between themselves and others in their lives…his mind. I loved how nene and Juan showed showed parts of themselves through storytelling and an ongoing conversation they had throughout the book about queer identity and life overall. I loved how nothing book is a tribute to our queer ancestors/elders and how words and sayings came to mean what they are today. I loved when both characters made up movie scenes and told them to each other. I absolutely loved the use of blacked-out documents to create a story within itself about the interviewees and how human they are since Dr. Henry was trying to use these documents to explain why homosexuality is “deviant”