306 pages
English language
Published Oct. 10, 2023 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Blackouts is a 2023 historical fiction novel by Justin Torres, published by Macmillan Publishers. The book uses historical documents including the 1941 report Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns by the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants in addition to historical photographs and illustrations to supplement the narrative. The real life Sex Variants study was based on the research of journalist Helen Reitman (who was also known as Jan Gay), who conducted hundreds of interviews with gay and lesbian people in Europe and New York City in the 1920s and 30s. Eighty of these interviews and case histories were eventually included in the 1941 Sex Variants study, published by Dr. George W. Henry, which concluded that homosexuality is a pathological condition. Excerpts from these firsthand accounts, in redacted form (redacted by Torres for literary effect), are interspersed throughout the book. The book won the 2023 National Book Award …
Blackouts is a 2023 historical fiction novel by Justin Torres, published by Macmillan Publishers. The book uses historical documents including the 1941 report Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns by the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants in addition to historical photographs and illustrations to supplement the narrative. The real life Sex Variants study was based on the research of journalist Helen Reitman (who was also known as Jan Gay), who conducted hundreds of interviews with gay and lesbian people in Europe and New York City in the 1920s and 30s. Eighty of these interviews and case histories were eventually included in the 1941 Sex Variants study, published by Dr. George W. Henry, which concluded that homosexuality is a pathological condition. Excerpts from these firsthand accounts, in redacted form (redacted by Torres for literary effect), are interspersed throughout the book. The book won the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction.
I love what this book does with both historical material and with storytelling. Sometimes I leave novels based on actual historical events wondering why a novelization or fictional approach is necessary, but this book both taught me something I didn't about Jan Gay and also reminded me how queer communication is...how true communication never hits the mark, never reveals itself, never lands.
