The Disappearers

A Novel

By: Marlon James

Narrated by: Brandon Miles, Michael Sean Harris, Solomon Peck, Andrew Clarke, Karl O'Brian Williams, Ano Okera

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 BOOKER PRIZE

“Harrowing, hilarious, magnificent …this novel will be read decades from now, pored over in seminars and bookmarked on subway commutes … [James’] defiant queer epic belongs to us all.” –The Boston Globe

“Among Marlon James’s most ambitious and history-making works… James is a singular literary talent.” –Booker Prize judge's citation

From Marlon James, author of the Booker Prize–winning A Brief History of Seven Killings: the electrifying story of the murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica and its far-reaching consequences


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.

Critic reviews

Early praise for The Disappearers

“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

“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)

“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

“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)