Blackouts

About Blackouts

Delve into the compelling narrative of Justin Torres's "Blackouts," a profound exploration of hidden queer history, memory, and the power of storytelling. Set in a secluded desert retreat known as the Palace, the novel introduces a young man tending to Juan Gay, a dying figure who has subtly influenced his life. Juan, a vibrant raconteur and guardian of the institutionalized, entrusts the narrator with a unique project centered around a rare artifact: "Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns."

This pivotal book, originally compiled in the early twentieth century by queer researcher Jan Gay, documented the lives of queer subjects before her groundbreaking work was co-opted and her name erased. Juan’s tattered copy, heavily redacted with black marker, becomes a conduit for reclaiming these muted voices. As Juan approaches his end, he and the narrator share their own stories of love, joy, and oblivion, resurrecting forgotten lives and resisting the relentless march of time. Torres masterfully weaves together testimony, photographs, and illustrations, inviting readers to confront what history has obscured and what we choose to create from its gaps. "Blackouts" is a defiant celebration of identity and a transformative encounter with the past, urging us to look steadfastly at our inherited world and the truths that flash within its shadows.

Key Details

• Author: Justin Torres
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Format: Hardback, 320 pages
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• ISBN: 9780374293574

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