'A Brief History of Seven Killings' is a dense and intricate novel that delves into the music and crime scene in Jamaica during the era of reggae icons Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. The narrative unfolds from Jamaica to New York, following the lives of underworld figures and exploring themes of gang politics, drugs, and violence. The storytelling style is described as intense, violent, and challenging due to the multiple narrators and the use of Jamaican patois, providing a gritty and insightful look into Jamaican history and gang violence.

The book is a masterful work that weaves together a complex web of characters and perspectives, creating a fully inhabited and authentic portrayal of Jamaica. Despite the challenging language and violent content, the novel is praised for its ambition, scope, and the way it immerses readers into the culture and politics of 1970s Jamaica and beyond.

Characters:

The characters are complex, vividly drawn individuals, each with distinct voices, contributing to the layered themes of violence and survival in Jamaica.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is complex and layered, utilizing dialect and multiple perspectives to create a visceral reading experience.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot centers on the assassination attempt against Bob Marley and unfolds through the intertwined lives of characters, revealing Jamaica's turbulent history.

Setting:

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Jamaica's political strife in the late 20th century, the novel explores both local and international contexts.

Pacing:

The pacing fluctuates, starting slow as readers acclimatize, then speeding up as tension builds, though it is noted to be lengthy.

Dead people never stop talking. Maybe because death is not death at all, just a detention after school. You know where you’re coming from and you’re always returning from it. You know where you’re goi...

Notes:

The novel is over 688 pages long, challenging the notion of 'brief' in its title.

It is organized around the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976, though Marley is referred to only as 'The Singer.'

The narrative features multiple perspectives from over seventy different characters, showcasing intricate plotlines.

James employs Jamaican patois heavily, making it a challenging read for some, but adding authenticity to the dialogue.

The story explores themes of violence, political corruption, and the impact of the CIA in Caribbean politics during the Cold War.

It juxtaposes the local Jamaican context with the unfolding drug trade in New York City in the late 1980s.

James masterfully uses vivid, graphic depictions of violence, including deaths that profoundly impact the narrative.

The author won the Man Booker Prize for this novel, highlighting its critical acclaim and literary significance.

Readers often note the novel's cinematic quality, drawing comparisons to works by Tarantino or Ellroy due to its violent and intricate storytelling style.

The book is recognized for its exploration of Jamaican history and culture, impressing readers with its depth and insight.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book contains graphic violence, sexual violence, drug use, language that includes racial slurs, and depiction of murder.

From The Publisher:

Winner of the Man Booker Prize

One of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Books of the Decade

One of the Top 10 Books of 2014 - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

A "thrilling, ambitious . . . intense" (Los Angeles Times) novel that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, from the author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf

In A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James combines masterful storytelling with his unrivaled skill at characterization and his meticulous eye for detail to forge a novel of dazzling ambition and scope.

On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven unnamed gunmen stormed the singer's house, machine guns blazing. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Little was officially released about the gunmen, but rumors abounded regarding the assassins' fates. A Brief History of Seven Killings is James's fictional exploration of that dangerous and unstable time in Jamaica's history and beyond. Deftly spanning decades and continents and peopled with a wide range of characters-assassins, drug dealers, journalists, and even ghosts-James brings to life the people who walked the streets of 1970s Kingston, who dominated the crack houses of 1980s New York, and who reemerged into a radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s. Brilliantly inventive, A Brief History of Seven Killings is an "exhilarating" (The New York Times) epic that's been called "a tour de force" (The Wall Street Journal).

Ratings (7)

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Liked It (1)
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Reader Stats (27):

Read It (7)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (13)
Did Not Finish (3)
Not Interested (3)

1 comment(s)

kimskim

Loved It

9 months

Whoa, this book has a lot going on but it told a crazy good story. I did struggle to get through several of the earlier chapters, especially the Jamacian kids doing coke, because they were just huge blocks of text but it was much smoother after that.

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About the Author:

Marlon James was born in Jamaica in 1970. He is the author of the New York Times-bestseller Black Leopard, Red Wolf, which was a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction in 2019. His novel A Brief History of Seven Killings won…

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A Brief History of Seven Killings

Marlon James