The Disappearers

There have been some astute depictions of queer life in the 1980s in the media — It’s A Sin and Pose and The Great Believers being among the ones that resonated deeply with me, and the upcoming Elsinore being high on my list to watch — but rarely have we seen these depictions of queer life take place outside of the Americas and Europe. In Marlon James’ The Disappearers, the action is set in 1980s Jamaica, outlining the lives of a handful of gay men who navigate tragedy and trauma with devastation. The novel itself is punishing and profane, describing violence and sex with a viscerality that becomes the book’s greatest strength while also challenging the reader to persevere through the graphicness. The pivotal moment in the story that propels the narrative, an attack on a group of gay men congregating to rehearse a play — an attack during which one man is killed and the others are hurt, physically and psychically — is written in a raw way that makes you feel the violence; through his…