The Disappearers

Praise for The Disappearers

“Epic, immersive, and devastating … The Disappearers isn’t without hope, and not everyone who reckons with its central injustice will be destroyed by it. How could a novel so crammed with the painful messiness of identity and rage and carnality ever reach a satisfying resolution? The masterstroke of The Disappearers is that James lands the finish, a feat of generosity, compassion, and, as with the rest of this unforgettable book, unconquerable bravado.” —Slate

“Marlon James’s story of gay experience and murderous homophobia in Jamaica is a maximalist’s banquet — and the Booker Prize winner’s finest book yet… The Disappearers places him near the front of the line, a decade or two from now, for the Nobel Prize.” —The New York Times

“The Disappearers uses the tricks of fiction to pull off something extremely difficult: giving full weight to tragedy and injustice without implying that some lives are over before they’ve begun.” —The New Yorker

“A harrowing, hilarious, magnificent novel that will stand the test of time… Like Whitman, James is a lover of detail and a poet of the body: he dwells on lips, shoulders, chests, and all points south. He ranks among our greatest vernacular authors, rendering most of The Disappearers in an English creole thick with lewd jokes and profanity… This novel will be read decades from now, pored over in seminars and bookmarked on subway commutes… As the disappearers emerge in human form, James mourns those lost to plague and violence while offering sprigs of hope. His defiant queer epic belongs to us all.”—The Boston Globe

“The unrelentingly raw and profane vision is enlivened by the energy of the writing, and in particular its infusions of Jamaican slang. Mr. James does not simply reproduce the island’s singular patois; he uses it to create abrasive auditory rhythms.”–The Wall Street Journal

“Few books have mapped the beleaguered realities of queer existence with such psychological depth, harrowing realism and searing condemnation … James makes room for the contradictions of queer life, its intimacies, estrangements and hungers, in utterly indelible ways. His prose is a consistent triumph: bitter and hilarious, lyrical, bawdy, pugnacious and scorchingly, ravishingly queer.” —The Guardian

“The Disappearers is a harrowing book, to be sure, but never nihilist, or defeatist, or cynical. Its joy in ultimate survival comes through.” —The Atlantic

“James is also determined to unwind the cliches of gay fiction… he in part evokes Alan Hollinghurst… The strength of the novel — and the source of its melancholy tone — is in its scope.”—Los Angeles Times

“Wickedly funny, at times sexy, and full of longing.”—Harper’s Bazaar

“Hard to put down… A good book can lift your spirits, brighten your day or add some spice to a dull life, but the truly great books change how you think, what you see and, hopefully, how you live. The Disappearers is one of those.” —Book Page (starred review)

“Breathtaking … an ambitious and astonishing portrait of queer life.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This language-rich novel is filled with vivid slang … As always, James writes exceptionally well….This book may remind readers of works by John Rechy, Jean Genet, William Burroughs, and Hubert Selby, but James is his own man.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Galvanizing … Equal parts detective story and sociocultural history, James’ new novel takes a deep, harrowing dive into the tragic consequences of violent homophobia … with random, frantic voices that leave unsettling echoes.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“Captivating and epic… James renders his characters’ tumultuous inner lives with striking imagery and energy; their dialogue is rapid, keen, and hard-hitting. In all, a gritty, powerful, and gripping read.” —Booklist