Novel of the decade?

"With this novel about gay experience and murderous homophobia in Jamaica and elsewhere during the 1980s and ’90s, [Marlon] James has written a masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far."

That is how Dwight Garner opens his rave for Marlon James' latest novel, The Disappearers, in his New York Times review. Later, he says: "This is another way of saying The Disappearers was one of the signal reading experiences of my adult life. It sank knives deep into my heart. I’m still in recovery from it."

Although they generally haven't been quite that effusive, most other critics I've read concur with Garner's praise. One exception: Adam Mars-Jones, writing for the London Review of Books: "Somehow the book’s fierce purpose has been adulterated. Its portrait of a cruel society loses authority by including a made-up bogeyman, a hate figure exempted from any attempt at understanding. This does significant damage to a book whose harshness is only bearable if it is telling the truth."

Some of you may still recall our lively discussion back in 2020 of James' previous novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, which had similar heft and ambition. Some of us loved it, while others found it a joyless slog. I note that history because I will be nominating The Disappearers for next year's reading list, and anticipate it may elicit similarly passionate reactions. (Not that that's a bad thing! :-)