The Disappearers

What do you think the titular theme of disappearance means in The Disappearers, beyond simply vanishing? What might it suggest for who gets to disappear, and who is forced to remain visible?

The Disappearers is a sweeping tome, moving from 1950s England to AIDS-era Kingston in the 80s and 90s, and 2000s United States. When reading, how did you find the novel’s shifting timelines, voices and realities? Did the rumbling uncertainty deepen the story for you?

Jamaica feels like a character in the novel, a shapeshifting presence with many faces. How does James’ Jamaica function as more than simply a setting? What role do place and community play in The Disappearers?

James uses the novel to confront Jamaica’s history of homophobia. A review in The Conversation declares it gives voice to the gay men the country erased, at a time when ‘dancehall lyrics, AIDS, and evangelical sermons created a crucible of loathing that legitimised violent denial’. Discuss how The Disappearers explores the impact of this history on gay people, and the ways in which homophobia intersects with race, class and masculinity.

The novel features many allusions to the queer canon, alongside references and homages to writers and literary figures. The revenge scenario draws specifically on Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, in which a vigilante society of Black men called the Seven Days takes the law into its own hands, killing a white person whenever a Black person is murdered. Why might James have chosen to draw on these literary traditions so explicitly, and how does this intertextuality shape readers’ understanding of themes, such as identity and revenge?

Many of the book’s characters are performers themselves, and The Disappearers contains stories within stories. What did you think this narrative technique added to the novel’s exploration of truth and fiction?

The novel is kaleidoscopic, featuring many characters and narratives, all with different and changing motivations. Which characters did you trust, and which did you distrust? Did your loyalties change as the novel progressed?

The Disappearers consistently toys with ideas of storytelling and authorship. What do you think James is saying about who gets to and who has the power to tell a story?

James is a very funny writer at times, using humour and absurdity alongside intense violence, grief and trauma. How did you find this use of levity, and how did it shape your reading experience?

The Disappearers is long, at 640 pages. Throughout its length, it varies in viewpoint and is often told through diary entries and changing narratives. How did you find this structure affects the novel’s pacing?