Queerness

The Love of Singular Men is first and foremost a queer novel, one deeply interested in examining the intersection between sexual repression, bigotry, and violence. On the one hand, Heringer lends a great deal of the novel's relatively brief length to a celebration of the beauty in the romance between Camilo and Cosme, which is short-lived but enduringly impactful in both of their lives. At the same time, Heringer posits through the events of the novel that sexual repression often leads to irreparable violence if it is not allowed to indulge in itself, something he communicates by way of the character of Adriano.

The relationship between Camilo and Cosme is rooted not only in a celebration of queer youth but also in an exploration of the ways that the boys' relationship with their masculinities. When Camilo and Cosme first meet, Camilo loathes and distrusts him, something...