The Disappearers by Marlon James is a literary crime novel set in 1980s Kingston, Jamaica, following a group of gay men whose lives are changed forever after a brutal mob attack. As the survivors deal with trauma, disappearance, revenge, and the search for justice, the novel examines queer life, violence, class, color, friendship, and what it means to survive in a society that refuses to accept you.

If you are reading The Disappearers with your book club, these discussion questions are for conversations about Marlon James's characters, the novel's themes, queer identity, violence, revenge, class, Jamaican society, and the different ways people respond to trauma. You can also use these questions on Bookum to start or join a meaningful book club discussion with other readers.

The Eight Men and Finding Community

1 - What did you think about the eight men coming together through the play before they really knew one another?

2 - How does the play Fortune and Men's Eyes add meaning to what happens to the men? How does it foreshadow the events of the book?

3 - What did you notice about the different personalities of Eddy, Jordan, Havelock, and the other men? How were they similar/different?

4 - How do the characters' different backgrounds shape the way they experience being gay in Kingston?

5 - What does the novel show about the importance of queer community when the larger society is hostile toward you?

6 - Which character did you find yourself understanding or connecting with the most?

Violence, Trauma, and Survival

7 - How does the attack affect each character differently?

8 - Why do you think Eddy struggles with whether his trauma is meaningful even though he was not physically attacked?

9 - How does the novel show that violence can take forms beyond physical harm?

10 - What does the story suggest about the connection between rejection, isolation, and violence?

11 - How do the characters change as they try to live with what happened to them?

12 - What does the violence makes them believe about themselves? How do they resist it?

Jordan, Revenge, and Justice

14 - Why do you think Jordan chooses revenge after the attack?

15 - At what point, if any, did you feel Jordan's pursuit of revenge was becoming something different from justice?

16 - How does Jordan's violence change him throughout the story?

17 - Can someone commit terrible acts while still believing they are fighting for something just? What does the novel say about that?

18 - How did you feel about Jordan as his actions became more extreme?

19 - What do you think the novel is saying about the danger of becoming the thing you are fighting against?

Class, Color, Queer Life, and Disappearing

20 - What did the novel make you think about the role of class and color within Jamaica's queer community?

21 - How do the gully queens challenge the way other characters understand power, vulnerability, and community?

22 - What did you think about the people who are most vulnerable becoming some of the characters' most important sources of care and support?

23 - Why do you think some of the men respond to the violence by leaving Jamaica, entering religious communities, or repressing parts of themselves?

24 - The novel has several different narrators and perspectives. How did that structure change your understanding of what happened?

Bonus Question: After finishing The Disappearers, what do you think Marlon James wants readers to understand about violence, survival, identity, and finding connection?

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