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A Brief History of Seven Killings

A Brief History of Seven Killings

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-26 11:56:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Marlon James
  • ISBN：1780746350
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Summary

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， one-night stands， drug lords， girlfriends， gunmen， journalists， and even the CIA。 Gripping and inventive， ambitious and mesmerising， A Brief History of Seven Killings is one of the most remarkable and extraordinary novels of the twenty-first century

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Reviews

Bob Baen ，

I enjoyed listening to the book and cast of characters。 The writing is very clever。 The profanity was tiresome at times。 Entertaining。

Rodon Langley ，

Other than the graphic descriptions homo bits 。。。 This was a great intriguing read

Peter Fg ，

I really enjoyed reading your book。 I read enthusiastically and understood the story。 。。。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top

Julie Ann Mingi ，

I did not get this book。 I’m sorry。 I tried。

Mihal ，

Kapitalna， językowy majstersztyk。 Brawa dla tłumacza i lektora。 Audiobook wysłuchany z dużą przyjemnością choć momentami historia była niezrozumiała ze względu na dużą liczbę wątków， postaci i perspektyw。

Audra ，

Could have been a great book if James had limited the point of view characters。 Every chapter was a different POV。 The story is an interesting one， but once I got the gist of it， I preferred to read a straightforward， historical account elsewhere rather than pick out the bits and pieces of the story from the herky-jerky monologues of this kaleidoscope of characters。The other problem with this style was that the reader can't bond with any one character。 You can't care about a protagonist because Could have been a great book if James had limited the point of view characters。 Every chapter was a different POV。 The story is an interesting one， but once I got the gist of it， I preferred to read a straightforward， historical account elsewhere rather than pick out the bits and pieces of the story from the herky-jerky monologues of this kaleidoscope of characters。The other problem with this style was that the reader can't bond with any one character。 You can't care about a protagonist because （a） there isn't one， and （b） none of the characters have qualities that inspire you to bond with them and care about their story。 I really liked James's The Book of Night Women， and I was excited to read this one because I'd liked that other so much。 The elements that made The Book of Night Women excellent， though， were missing in this book。 I'm looking forward to reading more by Marlon James。 I hope the next book I read focusses on one POV character， and one that I can care about。 He has a great talent。 。。。more

Krys ，

"if it no go so it go near so" "if it no go so it go near so" 。。。more

Barbara Gorman ，

Brilliant but difficultI admire so many things about this book。 The plot and characters are seamless。 I found the Jamaican patois difficult to follow though， and took ages to finish

Violet wells ，

I was close to abandoning this at the 100-150 page mark。 Structurally it just seemed so muddled and improvised and rambling。 Like a relentless jam session that wasn't developing into a song。 Milkman， another novel dealing with macho male violence and Libra， another novel dealing with a CIA conspiracy theory both possessed a fine-tuned artistry that was missing here。 What kept me reading was the author's hypnotic prose - for the most part Jamaican patois - and the palpable excitement with which i I was close to abandoning this at the 100-150 page mark。 Structurally it just seemed so muddled and improvised and rambling。 Like a relentless jam session that wasn't developing into a song。 Milkman， another novel dealing with macho male violence and Libra， another novel dealing with a CIA conspiracy theory both possessed a fine-tuned artistry that was missing here。 What kept me reading was the author's hypnotic prose - for the most part Jamaican patois - and the palpable excitement with which it was written。 It's interesting that at the back of book Marlon Jones confesses for a long time he didn't know whose story this book was and as a result was unable to find an architectural design。 His problem， he tells us， was solved by someone suggesting he read William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying。 Thus， I guess， came the decision to tell the story through multiple narrators which allowed him to stick with the Jamaican patois， clearly an overriding imperative on his part which a third person narrative would have made difficult。 But for me this wasn't a happy solution。 As a device it's more akin to a long running TV series than a literary novel。 There were too many narrators and some， arguably， weren't even necessary。 You could remove sections of this （long） book without it being apparent - never a good sign。 Women in this testosterone-crazed world are little more than chattels and the female narrators， for example， were lame as women and didn't widen the perspective of this macho world at all （as Anna Burns did so brilliantly and cuttingly in Milkman）。 Here， for the most part， they merely reinforced the male perspective。 And seemed largely a kind of shoehorned afterthought。 A novel without women perhaps seeming both commercially and ideologically too risky a proposition。 But eventually the story begins to emerge from all the fumbling and repetition and it's a gripping story。 The multiple voice form begins to become more enticing too。 I didn't know Bob Marley was shot or that it was believed the CIA were behind the assassination attempt。 Essentially this is a mafia story with the familiar state collusion and drug trafficking backdrop。 Ultimately it bears some resemblance to the fabulous TV series The Wire。 The syncopation between poverty and crime a mainstay of the narrative so the truly bad guys are on executive boards rather than wielding guns。 I ended up admiring Marlon Jones for the architectural risks he took even though I'm still not convinced there wasn't a tighter and more economical form for this story which probably carries about 150 pages of excess baggage。 。。。more

Judy Cormier ，

This was an intense book。 At times I didn’t like it and other times I couldn’t put it down。 The language was sometimes difficult and I had to read many passages over a few times to understand it。 With 75 different characters and a interwoven stories， you really have to pay attention as you read。 I don’t think you could be blamed if this isn’t your cup of tea。 It’s just not an easy read。 🗺📖🇯🇲 One thing I enjoy about historical fiction is the references to real people and events。 It took me so lon This was an intense book。 At times I didn’t like it and other times I couldn’t put it down。 The language was sometimes difficult and I had to read many passages over a few times to understand it。 With 75 different characters and a interwoven stories， you really have to pay attention as you read。 I don’t think you could be blamed if this isn’t your cup of tea。 It’s just not an easy read。 🗺📖🇯🇲 One thing I enjoy about historical fiction is the references to real people and events。 It took me so long to read it for a couple of reasons。 First， I needed a break from it every so often。 Truthfully， if I wasn’t committed to reading it， I may not have finished it。 I’m glad that I stuck with it though。 Second， I kept stopping to read up on the people and events that are mentioned。 I love history and I love learning and reading about it， especially when there are references in the story Im reading。 There were so many references that I wanted to know more about， so I took the time to do a little research while reading。 🗺📖🇯🇲 Some of the things I looked up: Bob Marley， history of Kingston Jamaica， shower posse， the gangs and their leaders from this time period， Rastafarians， CIA involvement in Jamaica， Jamaican English-patois and slang， Mau Mau， Jamaican prime ministers from the 1970-1980’s， Jamaican political Parties-JLP & PNP， the Cold War， bay of pigs， Cuba， African diaspora， Bob Marley museum-56 Hope Road， reggae， Bob Marley’s Survivor Album and the meaning of the album cover art， the songs from each chapter， Haile Selassie-Emperor of Ethiopia born as Ras Tafari Makonnen。。。 and so much more。 🗺📖🇯🇲The writing itself was really well done。 Perhaps this is why it won the Booker prize？ I haven’t read any other Booker winners， so I’m going to search for some。 I would also read more from Marlon James， but I think I’ll wait a while！！ This was a “heavy” book。 🗺📖🇯🇲Trigger warnings: murder， violence， physical abuse， sexual abuse， gang warfare， rape， language， racism。 This story is not fluff！ 。。。more

Krzysztof Czosnowski ，

4，5

Dan'l Danehy-oakes ，

This is a brutal， beautiful， and complex book。 It's not often that you can use all three of those adjectives to describe the same book， but there you are。In December of 1976， Bob Marley was the subject of an assassination attempt。 Seven men invaded his house， and shot dozens of bullets， hitting Marley in the chest and arm， his wife in the head， and his manager in the torso and legs。 Amazingly， nobody was killed。So what this book is， is the （fictional） story of the men who attempted to murder Mar This is a brutal， beautiful， and complex book。 It's not often that you can use all three of those adjectives to describe the same book， but there you are。In December of 1976， Bob Marley was the subject of an assassination attempt。 Seven men invaded his house， and shot dozens of bullets， hitting Marley in the chest and arm， his wife in the head， and his manager in the torso and legs。 Amazingly， nobody was killed。So what this book is， is the （fictional） story of the men who attempted to murder Marley， the people around them， and what became of them。 Marley is never named in the book; he is simply referred to as "the Singer"。 James is concerned to put the events in their proper political and economic perspective。 In 1976， the People's National Party （PNP） was the governing party of Jamaica， much to the disgust of the US Government。 That the CIA were present is not in question。 Most of the early action takes place in the slums of Jamaica， specifically areas that James has given the fictional names of Copenhagen City and the Eight Lanes， both modeled after real areas of Kingston。 Aside from the murders， a lot of the brutality comes from a simple portrayal of the facts of life in these desparately poor communities。Copenhagen City is， more or less， aligned with the Jamaican Labor Party （JLP）， while the Eight Lanes are similarly aligned with the PNP。 The two neighborhoods are in a continual state of low-level war with each other， the gang boss of the Lanes going by Shotta Sherriff， while Papa-Lo rules Copenhagen City。Papa-Lo keeps the peace in his neighborhood。 Anyone who rapes a woman will be brutally killed， that sort of thing。 He dreams of a better life。 Some might consider him a bit soft， though he's a many-times killer。Two of Papa-Lo's top men are contacted by "Doctor Love，" an alumnus of the Bay of Pigs， and given guns and explosives and the job of assassinating the Singer before he can perform at the "Smile Jamaica" concert。 One of them， calling himself Josey Wales， is a cold-eyed killer who is gradually taking power from Papa-Lo。 The other is a cold-eyed killer named Tony Pavarotti。Together they organize the assassination attempt。Meanwhile。。。 an uptown girl named Nina Burgess finds herself pregnant after a single encounter with the Singer。 She takes up a watch at a bus stop across the street from his compound， believing that he wrote a song about her and hoping he will help her out in some way。Meanwhile。。。Alex Pierce， a reporter for _Rolling Stone_ magazine， is in Kingston nominally to get an article about Mick Jagger， who is there for the Smile Jamaica concert and boffing Jamaican girls。 But he scents a story about the Singer and wants to interview him， though the attempt will cost him his job。Meanwhile。。。Barry DiFlorio， CIA station chief， is upset to learn that Doctor Love is in town， and quite concerned about the brazen theft from the docks of a shipment of guns and ammo。。All that is before the assassination attempt， in Part 1。There are five parts， and each takes place on a single day。 The second part takes place on December 3， the day of the night of the attempt。 The other parts take place quite a bit later （the last part on March 22， 1991）， They also spread out geographically， notably to New York and Miami。 Two questions occurred to me on reading the book: Why is it called "A Brief History of Seven Killings" when there are far more than seen killings in the book？ And， why does expert marksman Josey Wales fail to kill the Singer？ Both of these are answered， along with most of the other mysteries raised along the way， but you have to be very patient and wait for James's good time to tell you。 And， yes， I did say _most_。 If you are the sort of reader who wants everything bundled up neatly at the end of a book， you will be frustrated。 Before， between， and after the five days， life goes on （except for the ones who die）， and things happen during those times。 We learn what some of those things are; indeed， James is generous with flashbacks。 Nonetheless， there are unanswered questions。The other kind of person who definitely should not read this book is the kind of person who is upset by bad language， or teh Gay。 Several of these hard-arsed gangster types are decidedly gay， though they would， mostly， deny it。 And they talk like gangsters， which is to say， with many f-bombs and other swears， many of them in Jamaican patois。Oh，yeah， much of the story is told in that dialect - basically， all of it except when we're in the point of view of Americans - and it gets pretty thick in some places。 Nothing a good reader can't glerk from context， but it might be worth looking up a site like jamaicanpatwa dot com to work out what some of the more commonly used words mean - or even some of the words that are used rarely but make a difference to the scene you're reading。So anyway。 I really liked it and recommend to anyone who is even slightly interested in this sort of thing。 。。。more

Neal ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I did not really get into this book。 It was a little too "real" for me， in fact I found it over the top and depressing。 There were no sympathetic characters that I could relate to。 I didn't really like the narrative structure with jumped back and forth between characters。 The writer is definitely talented， but this book was not for me。 I did not really get into this book。 It was a little too "real" for me， in fact I found it over the top and depressing。 There were no sympathetic characters that I could relate to。 I didn't really like the narrative structure with jumped back and forth between characters。 The writer is definitely talented， but this book was not for me。 。。。more

Tanish Jena ，

Amazingggg！

Karina ，

Dnf; I wanted to read this because of the setting but it was too brutal for me。

Liucija Jurytė ，

I picked up this book as part of my challange to readabook around the world。 This was supposed to be for Jamaica。 I always finish books that i start， unfortunately， really couldn't make myself finiah this one。 perhaps I am not in a right state of mind to like it right now。 perhaps I will give it another chance， but for now， I am putting it away。 Sorry。 I picked up this book as part of my challange to readabook around the world。 This was supposed to be for Jamaica。 I always finish books that i start， unfortunately， really couldn't make myself finiah this one。 perhaps I am not in a right state of mind to like it right now。 perhaps I will give it another chance， but for now， I am putting it away。 Sorry。 。。。more

David ，

This is a massive， sprawling， swirling kaleidoscope of a work--tons of POV characters， patois， large chronological gaps in the narrative， plot lines that come and go and fizzle then reemerge， or don't。 It's a book of guns and violence and poverty and blood and politics and heartbreak and missed chances and opportunities seized。 It's a book of characters running from their pasts--and others running after their pasts。 It's a nasty Cold War drama， it's a cartel story， it's a ghetto fairytale。 It's This is a massive， sprawling， swirling kaleidoscope of a work--tons of POV characters， patois， large chronological gaps in the narrative， plot lines that come and go and fizzle then reemerge， or don't。 It's a book of guns and violence and poverty and blood and politics and heartbreak and missed chances and opportunities seized。 It's a book of characters running from their pasts--and others running after their pasts。 It's a nasty Cold War drama， it's a cartel story， it's a ghetto fairytale。 It's so much that it's practically bursting at the seams。It's a book that feels alive because it feels like life。 Now， it doesn't feel like a life I've lived， nor anybody I know--it's a Jamaican story， through and through， whether it's of the Jamaican life lived in Kingston or the Jamaican life lived in the New York diaspora。 It's not my life， but it doesn't need to be for me to appreciate it and marvel and Marlon James's skill as a writer and chronicler of life in general。 It's not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination， either in content or style， but by the end， it doesn't feel like its 688 pages， and I didn't want it to end。 If you want to take a wild， immersive ride into Jamaica in the late 1970s and Jamaican New York in the late 1980s， look no further。 If you want an intimate look at poverty and violence that humanizes the people living there without romanticizing the conditions they have to deal with， again， look no further。 If you want a look at what the CIA was up to in Central and South America in the 1970s and 1980s （or at least what was credible enough for people living there to believe）， this is your book--"If it no go so， it go near so" indeed。Check it out。 。。。more

Schwarzer_Elch ，

Marlon James realiza un muy buen retrato de un sector de la sociedad jamaicana y las maneras que tienen sus miembros de relacionarse entre sí e interpretar y desenvolverse en su propio país。 Además， la historia es bastante interesante， tanto a nivel narrativo como histórico。 Por otro lado， el autor tiene una habilidad única para crear mundos en los que la violenta física， social y psicológica es la norma。 De hecho， todos los capítulos del libro son sumamente violentos， ya sea por las escenas que Marlon James realiza un muy buen retrato de un sector de la sociedad jamaicana y las maneras que tienen sus miembros de relacionarse entre sí e interpretar y desenvolverse en su propio país。 Además， la historia es bastante interesante， tanto a nivel narrativo como histórico。 Por otro lado， el autor tiene una habilidad única para crear mundos en los que la violenta física， social y psicológica es la norma。 De hecho， todos los capítulos del libro son sumamente violentos， ya sea por las escenas que recrea o por la crudeza con la que representa las injusticias de una sociedad desigual （la parte en la que se habla de la educación de niños y niñas y se hace una analogía con sus conocimientos sobre la Coca Cola es， simplemente， brutal）。 Teniendo en cuenta todos estos aspectos， me parece que “Breve historia de siete asesinatos” fue una excelente elección para cubrir a Jamaica en el World Reading Challenge。 Sin embargo， su gran problema radica en su innecesaria extensión y en el cambio radical de personajes entre la primera y la segunda parte。 Estas dos características me dificultaron bastante seguir con la ilación propuesta por James。 De hecho， recomiendo llevar anotaciones de todos los personajes que aparecen en cada capítulo， pues， simplemente， son DEMASIADOS y resulta un poco confuso。 Y sobre la extensión， el gran problema que presenta es que todos los efectos generados en la primera parte de la lectura se diluyen completamente y pierden peso debido a que la fórmula queda termina por gastarse mucho antes de que acabe el libro。 。。。more

Laurie Scarborough Elliott ，

Got half way through and just couldn’t find the energy to continue。

Jason Palmer ，

No。 Not this time Marlon。 I loved your other books， but this is just taking advantage of your excellent ability to capture real language。 It's kind of cool to hide some of the character names to keep us guessing and to deliberately obscure some details to keep us on our toes。 But to keep us guessing chapter after chapter so that we never have any idea what is even going on in the plot is mean。 Being expected to just sit back and enjoy the jazz of your prose is exhausting。 The book actually gets No。 Not this time Marlon。 I loved your other books， but this is just taking advantage of your excellent ability to capture real language。 It's kind of cool to hide some of the character names to keep us guessing and to deliberately obscure some details to keep us on our toes。 But to keep us guessing chapter after chapter so that we never have any idea what is even going on in the plot is mean。 Being expected to just sit back and enjoy the jazz of your prose is exhausting。 The book actually gets good with a semi-followable plot toward the end， but those characters are completely different from the ones in the beginning。 This really should be a trilogy so that only the people who liked the first 1/3 would feel compelled to read the next two。 I'm big on the sunk cost fallacy when it comes to reading and I invested a lot of time reading this book thinking that if I only kept on reading I would come away with something more than just the ability to say "bumbaclot" in an appropriate context。 But nope。 That's about it。 Raasclaat。 。。。more

Ted ，

I appreciate the cumulative effect of the book -- the atmosphere of Jamaica in the late 70s， the sense of political tumult， the vivid portrayal of life -- while struggling to enjoy the sentence by sentence writing。

Pat ，

A brutal， devastating book 。At times James reads like a young Faulkner。 At others he is literally channeling a crack heads stream of consciousness， which becomes unbearable。 There is some brilliant writing in this novel about Jamaica and the assassination attempt on Bob Marley， but James never lets you forget that Jamaica remains the murder capital of the world。I struggled to get through this， even though most of the characters are interesting ， because I could not stomach the constant violence A brutal， devastating book 。At times James reads like a young Faulkner。 At others he is literally channeling a crack heads stream of consciousness， which becomes unbearable。 There is some brilliant writing in this novel about Jamaica and the assassination attempt on Bob Marley， but James never lets you forget that Jamaica remains the murder capital of the world。I struggled to get through this， even though most of the characters are interesting ， because I could not stomach the constant violence and sexual abuse。 。。。more

Nora ，

The last 60-odd pages are some of the cleverest self-reflexive/self-critical writing on Black aesthetics， appropriation， and the whiteness of the publishing industry。 They （somewhat） justify the slog of the first 600 pages， which are thrilling and tedious by equal measures。

Kira ，

I came to this book after reading Black Leopard Red Wolf。 The books have some similar elements， but I should have just waited for the sequel in that series。 I am too much a sucker for plot and characters to like the broad scope of this book。 There were great scenes and great writing， but it often felt like a slog to keep reading。

Tabitha ，

🤯🤯

Michael Reynolds ，

Long， confusing， brutal。。。 loved it。

Charke ，

I struggled with this book！ A few chapters in， I had to give it a break for a good couple weeks。 This was my relationship with the book: on-and-off。 I took 3 months to finally complete it， after really pushing myself to do so （since I don’t like DNF）。I must say that James’ writing technique is brilliant in the way he brought each character to life。 I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel。 However， there are some characters I felt we could have definitely done without like Sir Arthur Jennings a I struggled with this book！ A few chapters in， I had to give it a break for a good couple weeks。 This was my relationship with the book: on-and-off。 I took 3 months to finally complete it， after really pushing myself to do so （since I don’t like DNF）。I must say that James’ writing technique is brilliant in the way he brought each character to life。 I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel。 However， there are some characters I felt we could have definitely done without like Sir Arthur Jennings and Nina Burgess（+） （yes， she’s a fan fave， I know）。The events that unfold in the story were a bit disjointed for me。 At one point I thought the entire plot surrounded the assassination of The Singer but then we were led to other events and revelations。 The history bit of the novel was great for me as I had not quite known， outside of what my parents would have told me of their experiences， what the political atmosphere in the 70’s was like。 With excitement on almost every page， you will be rather entertained so， it’s not a bad novel at all。 It’s just not the novel for me。 I just couldn’t keep up。 。。。more

V。K。 Dadhich ，

What made me read the book - the title， the first page of the book， and of course， the discountWhat I liked about the book - I'll admit， this is one of the toughest books I've read。 The reason？ The book is accentuated， and is written in dialects。 So i had a tough time getting to the 50th page。 After that， the journey became a bit bearable。 This is what i liked; the book challenged meWho will I recommend the book to - a patient reader。 This book is like a fever dream on an acid trip when you're i What made me read the book - the title， the first page of the book， and of course， the discountWhat I liked about the book - I'll admit， this is one of the toughest books I've read。 The reason？ The book is accentuated， and is written in dialects。 So i had a tough time getting to the 50th page。 After that， the journey became a bit bearable。 This is what i liked; the book challenged meWho will I recommend the book to - a patient reader。 This book is like a fever dream on an acid trip when you're intoxicated and exhausted。 You'll see things happening， but you'll not be able to easily connect the dotsWhat did the book teach me - i never knew accents and dialects could add such richness and perspective to a plot and character#OBAAT One Book At A Time 。。。more

Cappers ，

Honestly， it took me 300 pages to get into this book and truly start enjoying it。 Possibly this means I’m a moron。 But when I got into it I could not put it down。 It’s amazing and fully deserving of the Booker win。 All I want to do now is talk about it！

Andrew ，

Absolute masterpiece of a novel。Long， complex， violent。。。this book is gonna stick with me for a long time。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Brief History of Seven Killings

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Brief History of Seven Killings&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Brief History of Seven Killings&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0