Blackouts – Justin Torres

Justin Torres’ “Blackouts” is a stylistic exercise that feels more concerned with its own cleverness than with engaging its readers. The novel's experimental structure, essentially a mixed media piece of art that blends past and present, is undeniably ambitious, but it frequently veers into pretentiousness masked as creativity.

If that opening paragraph left any doubt, I hated this novel and gave up on it at 55 percent read. 

In fairness to Torres this is not a book that works well on audio, even for avid listeners. Accounting for that fact it was still dreadfully boring and not particularly fresh. Outside of the avant-garde approach, I’m struggling to see how this won the National Book Award for Fiction. 

Presented as a patchwork of voices and timelines, the novel's experimental structure hindered its overall coherence. The frequent shifts between the unnamed narrator's life, his relationship with Juan and the historical context of "Sex Variants" created a narrative that was often confusing and difficult to follow.

While the novel touches on important themes—queer identity, abuse and mental health — it never delves deep enough. Characters remain frustratingly shallow, and their stories feel incomplete. The inclusion of redacted pages from “Sex Variants” — narrated by the author in a grating, nasally draw — didn’t meaningfully enhance the narrative.

Honestly, “Blackouts” felt like a puzzle of mismatched pieces. I didn't finish this largely because it began to feel pointless. 

This is a novel of ideas rather than emotions, and its intellectual ambitions overshadow its storytelling potential. While it may appeal to those with a taste for experimental fiction, it’s unlikely to resonate with a wider audience.

I could see this working as a stage play, but as a novel – it is a hard pass. Remember: it isn’t necessary to read every novel that wins an award. 

Rating (story): 2/5 stars

Rating (narration): 3/5 stars

Format: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: August 12 – August 14, 2024

Multi-tasking: Not recommended. I strongly advise against reading this in general, but it is particularly ill-suited as an audiobook.