A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (2014)


A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James



                The Singer was planning a peace concert in the middle of Jamaica’s current political turmoil. The gangs in Jamaica weren’t sure how to feel about the peace concert, especially when the Singer was conversing with the two opposing parties. On December 3, 1976 someone tried to kill the Singer. He was struck in the chest, in a shot that just missed his heart. The peace concert would have to be postponed and the Singer would leave Jamaica, not returning for a few years. A Brief History of Seven Killings is not the Singer’s story. It is the story of those affected by the attempted assassination of the Singer, and the lives taken, changed and ruined after that day.
                If you are looking for a quick easy read about Bob Marley, then keep looking because this is not that book. I was actually surprised by how little of this book actually involved Bob Marley. He was the tertiary character that this story talked about but he was never in the forefront of the story. Those characters were the drug dealers, the writer, the woman and the CIA agent whose characters we meet and see throughout the novel. The first part of this book was a trying experience. I love a richly narrated character driven plot and I have no problem with changing point of view characters, but I would not have survived if James had not added his “cast of characters” that stated who the characters were. Without that introduction I would have been blindly going into each character, because once a character’s narrative began there was very few clues provided on their given situation. If you read beyond part one of this novel, then I would recommend going forever because all of James’s characters are really well developed and have a strong voice and presence.

                I’m giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. I found this novel to be really well written but extremely dense. At well over 600 pages this story seemed to go and on and on. I had no idea how James’s planned on pulling it together and the ending still has a lot of loose ends. But this novel was really interesting, with original characters, a complicated plot and really great world building. A Brief History of Seven Killings probed into the topics of drugs, gangs, rivalries, Jamaican politics, government conspiracies and murder. After adjusting to his writing style, I began to really enjoy the story but there were moments throughout this novel where my interest waned. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt by Steve Johnson

Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest by Ian Zack

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood