The Disappearers
 | |
| Author | Marlon James |
|---|---|
| Set in | Jamaica |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Publication place | London |
Published in English | 3 September 2026 |
| Pages | 640 |
| ISBN | 9780241714409 |
| Website | Hamish Hamilton |
The Disappearers is a 2026 novel by Jamaican writer Marlon James, published in the UK by Hamish Hamilton. It was included on the longlist for the 2026 Booker Prize.
Plot
James's sixth novel, it centres on a homophobic attack on a gay theatre troupe preparing to stage John Herbert's Fortune and Men's Eyes in 1980s Kingston, Jamaica, and the different strategies the actors adopt to deal with the aftermath.[1][2][3]
Reception
In his review, New York Times book critic Dwight Garner called it "the novel of the decade, if not the century".[4] The Guardian's reviewer Yagnishsing Dawoor criticised the pacing of parts of the "overlong" narrative but praised the novel's engagement with figures from the queer canon and its prose, which he characterised as "bitter and hilarious, lyrical, bawdy, pugnacious and scorchingly, ravishingly queer".[3]
The Disappearers was longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.[5][1]
See also
- A Brief History of Seven Killings, a 2014 novel by James that won him the Man Booker Prize in 2015
References
- 1 2 "The Disappearers". The Booker Prizes. 28 July 2026.
- ↑ Loffhagen, Emma (28 July 2026). "Previous winners Douglas Stuart and Marlon James lead Booker prize longlist". The Guardian.
- 1 2 Dawoor, Yagnishsing (24 August 2026). "The Disappearers by Marlon James review – a scorching exposé of homophobia in Jamaica". The Guardian.
- ↑ Garner, Dwight (30 August 2026). "Book Review: The Disappearers, by Marlon James". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ McIntosh, Steven (28 July 2026). "Booker Prize longlist: See the 13 'dynamite' novels up for this year's prestigious award". BBC News.