Marlon James returns with 'The Disappearers,' the novel of the decade?

Marlon James, winner of the 2015 Booker Prize, returns to bookstores with a monumental work already hailed by critics as 'the novel of the decade.' 'The Disappearers' is an immersive and devastating epic that unfolds from a single, extremely violent event that took place in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1988.

The story revolves around a group of gay men who gather to rehearse a play intended to challenge the myths of male sexuality and Jamaican homophobia. In a context where male homosexuality is criminalized, their project proves reckless and semi-suicidal, leading to tragic and permanent consequences for the characters.

As in his previous masterpiece 'A Brief History of Seven Killings,' James does not spare the reader explicit depictions of violence and sex, but his elevated prose lends the brutality a Shakespearean grandeur. The novel intensely explores how homophobia deforms and transforms its characters, weaving fear, hatred, and desire into an inextricable tangle.

Despite the dark subject matter, 'The Disappearers' is not without hope. James manages to conclude the narrative with an act of generosity and compassion, demonstrating a narrative skill that lives up to the highest expectations.