The Award Tally

The Disappearers

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The Disappearers was longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize. In 1988, eight men in Kingston, Jamaica, begin rehearsals for a play. Though strangers to one another, they share an inescapable truth: All of them are gay. And they live in a world that refuses to accept them. One night the men are savagely beaten and one of them is killed. As their bodies heal, the survivors begin to face the hatred and contempt that the violence laid bare. Some try to ignore what happened. Others double down on retribution. Some disappear completely. In this spellbinding novel, Marlon James has written a propulsive crime story that is also a deeply human account of connection and acceptance. Full of fascinating characters, biting humor, and unapologetic sex, The Disappearers is both a thrilling page-turner and a finely etched portrait of queer life.

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Publisher
Hamish Hamilton
Year
2026
ISBN-13
9780593717202
Genre
FictionCrime & Thriller
Topics
Queer identity and homophobiaViolence and its aftermathCommunity and connection in 1980s Jamaica