She's Gone

“[A] diaspora of black culture and strong emotions, bordering the fine line between love and madness between two troubled people.” —Booklist

A prominent Jamaican reggae singer falls in love with an African-American woman while on tour in South Carolina. The two struggle to forge a relationship across a cultural and psychological divide in a story that spans from Jamaica to South Carolina to New York City.

“This striking debut novel is from the heart about the heart. The characters are true, the landscapes exquisite, and the relationships dynamic, insightful, and complex. Read it and be transported.” —Bernardine Evaristo, author of Mr. Loverman

“She’s Gone offers intriguing geographic descriptions of South Carolina and Jamaica and interesting moments when Dawes allows Jamaicans their say about Americans.” —PopMatters

“She’s Gone delves into the psychology of desire and need as it contends with issues of culture and class. If it is a love story, it is one marked by the harsh realities of human existence that we see in the most revealing of Bob Marley’s love songs, or the cool sensual intelligence of the best of Milan Kundera. Dawes is a poet but he never let’s his poetry detract from the sheer pleasure of storytelling.” —Jamaicans.com