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A review by criticalgayze
Blackouts by Justin Torres
challenging
informative
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
As I said in my stories immediately upon finishing, THIS BOOK. This one pairs so well with Study for Obedience, which I just finished and loved from the Booker longlist, in the fact that you are completely unmoored from a meaningful sense of history all while history plays such a meaningful role in the story.
The history piece itself is so important. Being knowingly reductive, it is important to point out how so many of the straight authored “literary” books that center Queer narratives are “taboo” historical romances, AIDS stories, or modern tales of assault on Queer characters. Meanwhile, Queer authors of “literary” books are truly interrogating and repurposing history, see also The New Life and After Sappho. Being able to have honest historical conversations is incredibly novel.
To that end, the repurposing of history really sticks out here in a way that reminds me of last year’s FSG title Devil House and this year’s Biography of X. What is history? What is reality? What parts of reality is an author allowed to play with to create real “Truth?”
Just a brilliant read. Cannot recommend enough.
The history piece itself is so important. Being knowingly reductive, it is important to point out how so many of the straight authored “literary” books that center Queer narratives are “taboo” historical romances, AIDS stories, or modern tales of assault on Queer characters. Meanwhile, Queer authors of “literary” books are truly interrogating and repurposing history, see also The New Life and After Sappho. Being able to have honest historical conversations is incredibly novel.
To that end, the repurposing of history really sticks out here in a way that reminds me of last year’s FSG title Devil House and this year’s Biography of X. What is history? What is reality? What parts of reality is an author allowed to play with to create real “Truth?”
Just a brilliant read. Cannot recommend enough.