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dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
Amazing. Splendid. This will radically and forever change me and how I storytell and think about stories and narratives. there is always one other perspective of a story and even in your own perspective, how do you want to tell your side, your narrative? Do you want to tell it through the lens of someone from the outside? Like a movie, as the characters often do together, urging one another to tell the story like they're watching a movie unfurl?
At the center of this novel is the true story of jan and zhenaya gay, two queer researchers who wanted to publish a queer anthology. But they were sidelined by cis, white, and allegedly straight men who wanted to exploit the amazing anthology and research jan and zhenaya gathered to tell the true lives and experiences of queer folks.
Through erasure and purposeful blocks where text are omitted, the novel really did cause me to wonder what am I missing? What stories do I not know about because of erasure? And what stories do I tell while omitting key facts as well?
I think that is why it was such a beautiful novel to me. Because reality and fiction were blurred, the text was omitted, and these haunting but gorgeous photos were presented throughout the novel as well. And as we dig deeper and deeper into the past anthology that Juan and the narrator are capturing and retelling through Sex Variants, we are also getting a better understanding of Juan's life and the narrator's life as well. The narrator is a gay sex worker and Juan was the former muse for Jan and Zhenaya's lives. Juan landed in the institution because he left his neighbor's tap on, flooding their apartment. Juan is also dying and the narrator joins him for his final moments. In some ways, the narrator serves as a transition between past, present, future, and entertains Juan's retellings of narratives and stories.
In addition to this beautiful interaction and relationship, Torres also blurs lines between who's who and who's talking. But it wasn't done so in a completely unregulated fashion, but rather, it helped me see how Juan and the narrator share similar elements and life stories and experiences despite their age gap and differences. And that's also beautiful too.
It was gorgeous and I truly have no words for how I felt like this novel was a piece of art that could be and should be appreciated!
At the center of this novel is the true story of jan and zhenaya gay, two queer researchers who wanted to publish a queer anthology. But they were sidelined by cis, white, and allegedly straight men who wanted to exploit the amazing anthology and research jan and zhenaya gathered to tell the true lives and experiences of queer folks.
Through erasure and purposeful blocks where text are omitted, the novel really did cause me to wonder what am I missing? What stories do I not know about because of erasure? And what stories do I tell while omitting key facts as well?
I think that is why it was such a beautiful novel to me. Because reality and fiction were blurred, the text was omitted, and these haunting but gorgeous photos were presented throughout the novel as well. And as we dig deeper and deeper into the past anthology that Juan and the narrator are capturing and retelling through Sex Variants, we are also getting a better understanding of Juan's life and the narrator's life as well. The narrator is a gay sex worker and Juan was the former muse for Jan and Zhenaya's lives. Juan landed in the institution because he left his neighbor's tap on, flooding their apartment. Juan is also dying and the narrator joins him for his final moments. In some ways, the narrator serves as a transition between past, present, future, and entertains Juan's retellings of narratives and stories.
In addition to this beautiful interaction and relationship, Torres also blurs lines between who's who and who's talking. But it wasn't done so in a completely unregulated fashion, but rather, it helped me see how Juan and the narrator share similar elements and life stories and experiences despite their age gap and differences. And that's also beautiful too.
It was gorgeous and I truly have no words for how I felt like this novel was a piece of art that could be and should be appreciated!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Transphobia, Sexual harassment