How ‘The Lookback Window’ became one of the most anticipated—and controversial—queer books of the year
A post shared by Kyle Dillon Hertz (@kyledillonhertz)In his debut novel, The Lookback Window—out 8/1 from Simon & Schuster—Brooklyn-based author Kyle Dillon Hertz takes an unflinchingly look at male sexual assault within the queer community.
Hertz tells the story of Dylan, a twenty-something protagonist who survived unimaginable horrors as a child but only now—after the recent passage of New York’s Child Victims Act—realizes he may have an opportunity for retribution.The “lookback window” refers to the one-year span of time during which former victims of childhood sexual assault are able to seek legal action against their abusers.
It’s this real-life legal development thats provides the shape and structure of Hertz’s harrowing novel, which takes place over the course of a single year.The Lookback Window begs the reader to ask themselves: What is the cost of revenge?
What is the right way to deal with anger? And is it more productive to dive into one’s past head-on or steer away from it? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the queer thriller has cultivated a slew of online chatter—before it was even published—making it one of the most pre-ordered LGBTQ+ books of the summer.
