A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James | Book Review

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TW: cursing, gun violence, police brutality, death, drug abuse, physical abuse, racial slurs, sexual violence, violence, addiction, child death, homophobia domestic abuse, drug use, gore.
Marlon James’ “A Brief History of Seven Killings” is centered around the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. With over 75 listed characters and 10 narrators, the events leading up to and resulting after the attempt are stitched together. “There’s a version of this story that is not really about him, but about the people around him, the ones who come and go that might actually provide a bigger picture than me asking.”
The cast of characters is unparalleled. You follow gang members/leaders, an FBI agent, a dead politician, an American journalist, a political strategist, and a middle-class woman trying to emigrate. Marlon James said in an interview that he didn’t stop writing a character until he fell in love with them- and it really shows. Even if you dislike a character, you’ll find yourself intrigued with their view of the world. Through this cast, you experience the slums of Kingston in the 70s, the crack wars in the 80s in New York, and the Jamaican political climate in the 90s. Just think of the command of language and technical skill needed to pull this off successfully.
As far as the writing style goes, I’m in awe. Marlon James was raised thinking that a voice of anything artistic, sophisticated, and “intellectual” was what made “good” writing. But he goes on to say that you can use the voice you already have to express something that is just as complex- which is what this book did. He’s reshaping this tradition of what “literary merit” is to include Jamaican patois, and I’m here for it.
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[@MerlinZuni]

Thanks for the review. This book is next on my list

[@marisreadsagain2608]

Love hearing your thoughts in video form!