Death Register

In this searingly honest debut novel, Jamaican author Dwight Thompson fearlessly and candidly explores themes of homophobia, emerging sexuality, identity, and the devastating effects of abuse.

Brought up by his grandparents, Chauncey Knuckle has done well for a country boy. He has won a place at a prestigious college for boys, and his juvenile writing has won him prizes and some praise. But he can only wonder what kind of person he has become. He witnessed his closest friend, Tristan, shot dead by the police and questions his role in Tristan’s downfall. Why did he fail to expose respected elder, Deacon Mac, for abusing Tristan when they were boys?

The college Chauncey enters is an institution still infected with the hangovers of colonialism, offering a training in elitism, misogyny, and homophobia. Chauncey discovers, too, that the boundaries between elite schooling and the criminal gang life of Montego Bay are crossed far more often than the students’ parents could ever imagine.