@jeremybaker.nz

Currently reading: The Disappearers: A Novel by Marlon James 📚

I’ve started reading Booker-Prize winning author Marlon James’ latest novel, which is also longlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize.

The reviews have been laudatory, and I concur, even though I’m only half way through the novel. This story draws you in and and never lets you go. I knew from the reviews that something terrible was coming, and this sense of foreboding only got worse as I came to know and empathise with the characters. When the full horror hit, it was devastating. I’m now in the middle stages of the story, and my jaw is still dropping as events unfold.

This novel is raw, true and powerful. It refuses to flinch away from the reality facing so many gay and queer people across the world, where intolerance and hatred are on the rise. The first part of the novel is set in Jamaica in 1988 - when I was 18 and living in equally homophobic Malaysia - but horrifyingly this story is increasingly relevant and vital today.

This is such an important novel, and has already made such an impact on me I couldn’t wait till the end to post about it. I’ll be back when I’ve finished - or as the New York Times review said - when the story finishes me….