The Disappointment

by Scott Broker

Set during a doom-fated vacation to the Oregon coast, The Disappointment follows a couple trying to hold close to one another while a bent reality—warped by personal losses and an ever-increasing drift toward the surreal—threatens to unravel them

It’s the night before a much-needed vacation, and Jack—a former playwright mourning his failed career—catches his husband, Randy, packing his mother’s urn. They had agreed: no mother on this trip. Parents, living or otherwise, aren’t the ideal guests for romantic getaways. But Randy has been carrying his mother’s remains everywhere since her death, and he isn’t ready to let go now.

Despite its natural beauty and kitschy charm, the Oregon coast does not provide the respite the couple seeks. Instead, their surroundings and encounters with locals grow increasingly surreal as the days pass. An overly -dedicated Method actor, tantra-obsessed neighbors, and a child environmentalist who may be able to communicate with the dead are but a few of the characters whose presence exposes long-simmering tensions that threaten to undo Jack and Randy’s marriage—to say nothing of their hold on reality.

Told with sly, irreverent humor, and shot through with dark currents of envy and longing for something other than what one has, The Disappointment explores the mutual exhilaration and terror of being placed center stage in one’'s own life.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Queer, Gay, LGBT, Literary Fiction, Adult

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Scott Broker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this book and will be internalizing every negative review I see so pick your words carefully 😍

[Vincent Scarpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

More like The Satisfaction.
Top-to-bottom terrific.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I genuinely feel so devastated to say goodbye to Jack and Randy, and so incredibly moved by this book. Scott writes about grief and desire and all the intricacies of being a human in such a gorgeous and affecting way. And the chapters are titled brilliantly! Looking forward to rereading again and again.

[CJ Alberts]

Excellent

[chloe]

From the first lines, in which a man packs his mother’s ashes into a suitcase while preparing for a romantic getaway on the Oregon coast with his husband, The Disappointment pulses with an innate sensitivity, humor, and strangeness, unraveling as the couple encounters the offbeat inhabitants of the small town. With each new encounter with the townspeople, a clearer picture of the couple comes into view, drawing an elaborate portrait of their struggles, their art, and the buzzing tension between them. Scott handles these characters with such care and fierce intelligence, mining each encounter with an irreverence and pulling grief into a dexterous, unignorable sadness as the couple drifts back and forth from each other— an invisible, magnetic force keeping them tethered as waves of discontent crash against them.

Scott perfectly captures the liminal state grief conjures and the ripple effects it has on those close to you. The novel descends, spiraling into a surreal pit into which the characters fall.

[Zach Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember the last book I read where I felt so painfully connected to two characters... To their faults, their desires, their selfishness, their edges. It felt like a beautiful mirror and so unbelievably unlike anything I've read before. Scott is simply a genius. Read this book!!

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s! so! good!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long-held frictions between married couple Jack and Randy become sparks after Randy's mother dies and his grief threatens to send the loving but tenuous relationship the couple has brokered up in flames. Will their love survive an increasingly bizarre trip to the Oregon Coast with Randy's mother's ashes, Jack's needy desire to be desired, and Randy's acute sorrow over the loss of his mother? The Disappointment is full of eccentric characters, messy intimacy, hilariously witty dialogue, and is paced to perfection. If you love the sexy insight of Bryan Washington's novels and Annie Hartnett's quirky and endearing characters, read this book!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disappointment this book is not! Broker's novel is a deep dive into long-term relationships and the grief of loneliness, even when we are together. Both relatable and disturbing, protagonist Jack's thoughts hold a mirror to the most vulnerable (selfish, desperate, joyful) parts of ourselves. Every sentence in Broker's novel is a gut-punch. If you're looking for an authentic, liminal, beautifully strange book-- look no further. Broker is an author to watch!

[Neil]

In the surreal landscape of The Disappointment, love is less a theme than a climate, with Broker inviting a slow surrender to the heat of its erotic anguish.
[Full review available here]

[J.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Disappointment is one of those books that quietly gets under your skin and refuses to leave. It’s strange, unsettling, funny in unexpected ways, and deeply reflective about grief and identity. The way it explores how loss can fracture reality, relationships, and even sense of self feels honest and painfully familiar. Its insight, originality, and emotional ambition make it worth the journey. It’s thoughtful, eerie, and lingers long after the final page. Deeply human, imperfect, and undeniably impactful. Highly recommend. Big thank you to the author, NetGalley, Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press for the opportunity to review this ARC!

[Remi · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can clearly recognise this book as well-written, even as it ultimately didn’t work for me.

Scott Broker writes with undeniable control and emotional intensity. Grief, longing, resentment, and quiet despair spill across the pages, and the prose often feels dense with feeling. the sense of loss hangs over the story from the very beginning. i can absolutely see why many readers admire this novel, and why it resonates so strongly with them. the portrayal of a marriage under strain, shaped by grief and unmet expectations, feels intentional and carefully observed.

however, despite appreciating what the book is doing, it never quite clicked with me on a personal level. the emotions, the situations, and the direction of the plot didn’t spark my interest, and i found myself feeling distant rather than immersed. this may very well be a matter of timing, perhaps i’m simply not at the stage of life where this particular exploration of marriage, grief, and disappointment resonates deeply.

while the novel didn’t hold my attention the way i hoped, i don’t think that diminishes its value. if you’re looking for a quieter read, The Disappointment may be exactly the kind of book that speaks to you.

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to-read:

life is a play, i'm the sole audience

*thank you to Catapult for the ARC*

[Kelsey McGarry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steamy, hilarious, irreverent, reverent, surprising, juicy, devastating. Broker's mind is singular, capturing assorted forms of grief and absorption more sharply than most. An absolute smash of a debut novel and unlike anything I've ever read!

[Haley Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broker perfectly puts words to what it actually like in our internal worlds to be in relationship with others. Very relatable, deeply funny, absurd in the best ways, incredibly smart. Excited to see what Broker does next!

Just exactly the kind of book I love to get lost in. And I’m so sad it’s over. Could have read so many more pages of their story, and I’ll be thinking of Jack and Randy for a long time.

[Sheldon Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute triumph. Broker is a master of articulating the harrowing undercurrents that bubble beneath every complex human relationship. The way he tackles Jack and Randy's tempestuous love for one another, while also exploring the ways that art can both sustain and destroy us, is truly something spectacular to behold. Do not sleep on this book!

[RP · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mysterious, strange, and totally compelling novel of surreal encounters, and a relationship on the brink of collapse. It reminded me of so many favorite writers, mostly because of the feelings it evoked. For fans of Joy Williams, Kafka, Jane Bowles, even Laura van den Berg. Wonderful!

[Julia Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading slump over! I knew right away this one would be good! It was quirky and funny (and occasionally spooky), sexy and wholesome, emotionally affecting and REAL. Also any author who thanks Grammy and Grandad in the acknowledgements is a winner in my world.