[Review] A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

Title of Book: A Brief History of Seven Killings

Author: Marlon James
Publisher: Oneworld
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 686

*WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015*
JAMAICA, 1976 Seven gunmen storm Bob Marley's house, machine guns blazing. The reggae superstar survives, but the gunmen are never caught.
From the acclaimed author of The Book of Night Women comes a dazzling display of masterful storytelling exploring this near-mythic event. Spanning three decades and crossing continents, A Brief History of Seven Killings chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters - slum kids, drug lords, journalists, prostitutes, gunmen, and even the CIA.
Gripping and inventive, ambitious and mesmerizing, A Brief History of Seven Killings is one of the most remarkable and extraordinary novels of the twenty-first century.

-----------------------

A Brief History of Seven Killings tells a fictionalized version of the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. Although in this book, he’s referred to as ‘The Singer’. The book spans decades with settings from Jamaican ghetto to New York. A Brief History of Seven Killings is divided into five sections. Each section is set during specific date with the first one being in the 70s. The book is mostly set in Kingston, Jamaica. In the beginning of the book, we were given a list of characters and a brief description on who they are. I suggest marking this page because the characters are so many that it could be difficult to keep track of. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a specific character but never the Singer.

This book is complex. It has about 70 characters; some play an important role in the story, some are just there for a section and that’s it. Keep in mind that this book is 686 pages long (at least the edition that I read) so a character who seems like he/she doesn’t play an important role in the beginning, could turn up again later as a plot point. The main story of this book is basically an attempted assassination of the Singer. It did happen in real life to Bob Marley. However, there are still questions regarding the assassination. What Marlon James did in this book is he’s trying to fill in the blanks with politics conspiracy, drugs, and gang rivalry.

Honestly, the only reason I picked this book up was because it’s the winner of the Booker prize. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t pick it up because the premise of this book didn’t really pique my interest. In fact, I didn’t even know what the premise of this book until the second I started reading. The length of this book intimidates me. It took me two months to finish this book; because it was so hard for me. I’m sorry but it was such a challenge for me to read, let alone finish this book. For one, the writing style makes it difficult for me to understand the book. Since each chapter is told from the perspective of the characters, when it’s narrated by one of the Jamaican gang member, it's written in a Jamaican-English slang dialect which not everyone understand, including me. What I did is guessing based on context and it was exhausting. Also, some chapters are written in the stream of consciousness style; Often when the narrator senses that something bad is going to happen to him/her. There are pages in which the text has no kind of punctuation marks. I skipped those.

Another problem that I have with this book is the vulgarity. This book is brutal because it follows gang members and supposed to tell the harsh reality of Jamaican ghetto. Still, it doesn’t have to be that explicit. At one point, I almost threw up while reading this book.

It is such a shame though, because when I do understand what the narrators are saying, I actually enjoyed the book. The premise has promise. The intricate plot and conspiracy are thrilling to read. It could help if the writer compressed the story a bit. I don’t think it has to be that long. I feel the first few sections are slow and I got bored. Also, I don’t think all characters get enough conclusion. There are characters that I still don’t get why he/she is in the book at all. Maybe I miss it when I skipped those pages.

Anyway, overall unfortunately a Brief History of Seven Killings is not my cup of tea. I wouldn’t recommend it but there must a reason why this book won the Booker prize. If you are still interested in reading this book, may I remind you that you have to be committed to finish it. Who knows, maybe you end up liking this book more than I do.