Acclaimed Jamaican writer Marlon James has released a new novel titled 'The Disappearers', a fiercely personal and powerful book that delves into the country's dark reality of homophobia. The novel, which spans from 1988 to 2005, is a sweeping narrative that explores the lives of several characters, including Eddy Porteous, a bi-racial student who becomes involved in the production of an openly queer play. This play becomes a catalyst for a series of events that change the characters' lives forever. James' vivid storytelling conjures up the textures of lived experience in Jamaica during this period.
The novel is set against the backdrop of Jamaica's reputation as a popular tourist destination, but James reveals a different side of the country, one that is riddled with homophobia and violence. The characters in the novel face brutal attacks, including a vicious assault on the cast and crew of the queer play, which leaves one victim dead and another with severe injuries. The medical personnel's cold treatment of the survivors further exacerbates their trauma. James uses physical violence to explore social violence and the structures of oppression that its victims must fight to survive.
The novel is divided into five parts, each with a different tone and central figure. It follows the characters as they try to cope with the trauma they've experienced, often leading to emotional turmoil. Some characters, like Matt, simply vanish, while others disappear in different ways, such as going into exile, getting AIDS, or making a protective heterosexual marriage. Jordan, one of the main characters, has a searing encounter with one of the men who brutalized him, revealing the depth of his anger and desire for revenge.
James' novel makes it clear how scary and isolating it was to be gay in '80s Jamaica, a land where parents demonized their own children and crowds cheered on the cops who beat them. The book sheds light on the harsh realities faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Jamaica during this period. James' achievement is not just in showing this bigotry, but in conjuring up the raw energy of his characters' experiences, including hope.
One of the key aspects of the novel is James' ability to evoke the precise atmosphere of various settings, from a Kingston gay bar to the luxuriously debauched lair of a pedophile diplomat. He takes readers deep inside his characters and their world, exploring the nuances of skin color and class, as well as the way fear can heighten sexual pleasure.
The novel's epic ambition carries readers from Kingston to '60s London to 21st-century Miami and back again to Jamaica. While some sections may feel a bit too long, the book's sweeping narrative and vivid storytelling make it an unforgettable read. James' novel plunges readers into darkness, making them feel what it is to live and love within it.
As the director, Havelock, addresses an imaginary audience of "first-world gays", he highlights the stark contrast between their fears and those of the LGBTQ+ community in Jamaica. "Your biggest fear is that you will be rejected... My biggest fear is that I will be burned to death," he says, underscoring the harsh realities faced by the characters in the novel.
Key points
- Marlon James' novel 'The Disappearers' explores Jamaica's homophobic underbelly
- The novel sheds light on the harsh realities faced by the LGBTQ+ community in Jamaica during the 1980s and 1990s
- James' vivid storytelling and epic ambition make the book an unforgettable read
