From the Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings, the story of the murder of a gay man in 1980s Jamaica and its far-reaching consequences.
A maximalist’s banquet: It is humane, blood-flecked, disturbing and sustaining ... James has written a masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far ... One of the signal reading experiences of my adult life. It sank knives deep into my heart. I’m still in recovery from it.
A harrowing, hilarious, magnificent novel that will stand the test of time ... He invents his own literary language, horny yet tender, punctuated by puns and music and elegant flourishes. He jolts the narrative sideways and backwards, thumping his suspense line like an expert bassist ... His defiant queer epic belongs to us all.
The novel opens up many pleasures for literary readers, in its pacing, in its observations, and especially in the ventriloquism of Havelock’s old-school prose. But it’s not, mostly, a book about pleasure ... A harrowing book, to be sure, but never nihilist, or defeatist, or cynical. Its joy in ultimate survival comes through.
