"WINNER OF THE 2015 MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR FICTION From the acclaimed author of The Book of Night Women comes a masterfully written novel that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s. On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert, gunmen stormed his house, machine guns blazing. The attack nearly killed the Reggae superstar, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Marley would go on to perform at the free concert on December 5, but he left the country the next day, not to return for two years. Deftly spanning decades and continents and peopled with a wide range of characters—assassins, journalists, drug dealers, and even ghosts—A Brief History of Seven Killings is the fictional exploration of that dangerous and unstable time and its bloody aftermath, from the streets and slums of Kingston in the 70s, to the crack wars in 80s New York, to a radically altered Jamaica in the 90s. Brilliantly inventive and stunningly ambitious, this novel is a revealing modern epic that will secure Marlon James’ place among the great literary talents of his generation." https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893314-a-brief-history-of-seven-killings http://www.amazon.com/Brief-History...-1&keywords=a+brief+history+of+seven+killings
awesome. been meaning to read this for a while now. anyone have any objections if i cheat and start a day or two early?
Through the first Papa Lo chapter. 5.2% This is a slow read so far, but not a bad one. Lots of jamacian patois and is phonetically spelled, which makes for slow reading. Kind of reminds me of Cloud Atlas with all the different accents and speech styles. However, it's pretty good so far. Still table setting. Lots of stuff going on.
I'm through the first section (Original rockers) and was coming to post something similar to Truman. It was slow going at first as I got used to style of the book but I picked up as I went through. Enjoying it so far
I was really hesitant to compare it to Cloud Atlas in fear of scaring people off, but it really shouldn't. It really doesn't take that long to get use to, and as laxjoe said it's good once you do
This is the next section I'll read and agree. The first bit was tough with the vernacular, next wasn't since it was normal English. Interesting so far but definitely not loving it by any means. But I'm like 4% in so not really fair to judge it yet.
good book to do the audiobook for as well. helps with any issues you may have with the vernacular and the different people they have reading all do a good job.
Read a bit more last night before I went to bed and I'm starting to get used to the flow a little bit more than I was the first time. Work might get cancelled because of snow (I usually work from home the first half of the day) so I'm rooting for that to dive back into it.
I love me some Bob Marley to the point where I have his albums in my library and always love when one of his songs is randomly played at a bar or something. I wish I was a bigger fan/ knew more about the climate in Jamaica he came from. I feel like a some references are going over my head. I recognize lyrics and locations from his songs in the context of this book, but cant help to feel Im missing on some of the connections. Probably will dive down a wikipedia hole shortly
I'm 8% in and I'm pretty sure they haven't actually said his name once, which I find super interesting. I'm not a Marley guy, just never got into his music, but I don't think I've listened to much either. So references to lyrics are definitely going over my head too.
They haven't. It's either The Singer or Rastafari / Rastaman so far. Im just a little behind you. Im super curious to find out if there's a reason or a payoff for it.
Through the first Demus Chapter (12%) Spoiler - Interesting to see how Bam-Bam sees Josey Wales as the psychopath he probably followed by a Josey POV where he's seems himself as proper and righteous. Josey is plotting to take out Singer. I think he's going to take out Papa-Lo too. - And it seems the CIA or some sort of American Agency is encouraging him. - Cant wait to call one of my friends pussyhole the first opportunity it fits. Also to tell one they have a little cocky - Fucking died at the policeman ruling out rape suspects by forcing them to hump the ground. "You cant fuck, go home" This books is rolling now that Im used to the style of it. Im all in now.
Through 2nd Alex Pierce Chapter (14%) Spoiler - Is Bam-Bam gay, or just a wants to fuck fuck fuck anything when all drugged up? Couldnt tell. What a little psycho. - Thank goodness for these Alex chapters. Pretty much sums up stuff in plain english. It's getting really good. This book has really sparked my interest in 60s/70s Jamaica. Sounds like a crazy place with so much shit going on.
I think it keeps getting better. i'm about 35% in now with a combo of audiobook and reading - its nice to have a cadence in mind when reading the jamaican chapters. really enjoying it so far and wish I could have read more. i have about 4 hrs of driving on thursday so I should be able to get through a big chunk then. and i think i've seen the name "bob marley" once, but i could have been high
Not really a spoiler, but just to be safe Spoiler So far Alex is the only person who has called him Marley. I think only twice
18% in: I'm liking it, but not loving it. I'm definitely into the rhythm of the story more than than I was at the jump, but there are times where I just want the damn story told and not in this way. Even the way the dialogue is written is odd - Let's do this - No - Ok Idk, I miss the tradition elements of a novel sometimes. Done with the first "chapter" which is really a way of saying done with the first section, with a bunch of little chapters within it. Will definitely keep reading but I'm definitely not all in on the story. Hope it gets better and all the annoying things about it make it more rewarding.
I don think you need to spoiler any of that imo. Anyway, I agree with the formatting critiques. The way the dialog is written is really weird. I wish the POVs were chapterized in the TOC. Would make it much easier to navigate, as Ive referenced the 'Cast of Characters' somewhat frequently. Ive seen this book compared to a Tarantino movie where there's a ton of random parts that dont make sense that come together. So far, it feels like a pretty good description. It's definitely an very different style in both construction of the book and storytelling than I use to, but Im liking it.
Don't ask me. I'm listening to the audiobook and am currently confused. Not as confused as I was at 3% when I was still listening at 1.5x speed and couldn't understand a damn thing the Jamaican's were saying.
I'm through two "chapters" (so to shadow dancing) 39% in. Spoiler I didn't have much time to read tonight and was pretty tired after work, but the demus chapter towards the end (not his goal chapter, I think 2nd to last) that was basically over long, run on sentence was tough to read. I may needed a break but he never gave me one! And then I did audio book for the final few chapters. The bam bam chapter where he's buried alive. Oh man. I thought I was going to suffocate. The guy reading the chapter did a great job with that part.
Listened to more on the way home this morning, and as many have said, I'm starting to get used to it. The Jamaican vernacular is pretty funny, especially listening to the guy who wants to fuck fuck fuck in 1.25x (listen to the american parts in 1.5x) Was it Bam Bam or Demus who wanted to Fuck Fuck Fuck. I thought it was Demus but then saw someone say it was Bam Bam.
It was Bam-Bam. His chapters are the hardest to read. He's a pre-teen street kid that has zero education. I probably would understand him even less listening to it than having to read it. Spoiler Still not completely sure because it's hard to fully understand, but I think that chapter was all about Josey getting him hooked on drugs. That was his first time. Snorted some blow and all he wanted to do was fuck fuck fuck. That chapter was a bear to read because it was his mind racing and he was talking a mile a minute. It was pages and pages of a single paragraph, singled spaced, no breaks. It jsut went on forever, but it was funny. And kind of sad. The way this is written is a double edge sword. The writing style and formatting, spacing of the font, ect is as much a part of the story imo. Maybe Im giving Marlon James too much credit, but it feels like it's an intentional mess at times that coincides with how much of a mess most of these characters are.
I would agree with a lot of what you said here. That said, sometimes writing like this for the sake of the characters/stories can be annoying af and really frustrating to read. But I'll still keep plugging away. Didn't get a chance to read last night but hoping to do a little tonight.
We are same. Didn't get to read yesterday. Need to find time today. I always feel anxious if I miss some days reading a book I started. I dont know why
Through the first part chapter/part (19%) Spoiler Nina is thirsty AF. Cant really blame her. It is Bob Marley after all. Hope the police dont rape her. Something sketchy is going to happen. So it appears the CIA is behind Josey shooting Bob. Interesting. Seems like the table is set and shit is about to hit the fan. im excited, but prob wont read much more today. bummer
Read a few more "chapters" last night so I'm like 22% in or so. Idk if it's that I'm used to the style or if there seemed to be more plot (because there really wasn't), but I enjoyed it more. It felt like we're actually going somewhere after the first chunk was just introducing these characters to us. I'll have a lot of time to read tomorrow so I plan on reading a bunch.
33% in. Really enjoying it now. This book is definitely a slower read, but not really in a bad way. So many times Ive stopped reading and went to wikipedia to read up on things. For instance, had no clue that George HW Bush was the CIA Director. Cool. Also, today is Bob Marely's 71st birthday. Or would have been
Through First 2 sections of Shadow Dancing (Kim Clarke and Barry Diflorio) Spoiler Ugh that first Kim chapter was such a slog. Knew she was going to get let behind. Interesting that she is trying to get out of Jamaica when Nina thought for sure she would stay when we read her POV and trying to get VISAs for the fam. Speaking of which - wonder what happened to her. Not sure what to make of Barry's chapter, but loved how he just shut down Alder at the end. Got an audible chuckle out of me. Hope this gets going again. Felt like most of the first two chapters were build up, then stuff finally started to happen at the very end. Now we're back to setting the table again. My feelings about this book are kind of like a yo-yo while reading it. Going from really good to meh and back and forth
Man, idk. I will finish it sometime (hopefully this month) but I needed a change of pace over the weekend and started a different book and was enjoying it much more.
IDK. Im 66% through and this could either turn out to be really good or an infuriating waste of time. Could go either way at this point. Through Shadow Dancin' (66%) Spoiler R.I.P. Bob Cool tie in that Kim was trying to play the same guy that was playing Josey
Started... Probably just under 10%. I dig it, but the story isn't quite moving at the pace I'd like just yet. Also, this is a pretty interesting article... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11672011/Booker-Prize-author-Marlon-James-interview.html They will never mention Marley's name according to that article, fwiw.
His name was mentioned twice somewhat early then never again, so far. Im motoring through. The Shadow Dancin' Chapter was really long and hard to get through. White Lines/Kids in America Chapter is going a lot faster and much more interesting. Through the 2nd Tristan Phillips part (89%) Spoiler - We're getting a lot of holes filled in which is nice. - Weeper is gay. Knew it. He's a psychopath. - Dorcas is Kim, but Im starting to wonder if Kim is really Nina. Im starting to wonder if Nina assumed her name for some reason. The whole exchange with the old guy telling jokes ect. That just seemed more like Nina, who isn't easily offended or naive a lot more than how Nina described Kim - which was a whiny bitch. Still not exactly sure if the pay off will be worth it, but this part has been the most enjoyable so far. Gonna try to push and finish tonight. Not sure I will though
Through White Lines/Kids in America Spoiler - Nailed it. Fist pump. That was probably obvious AF and most of you picked it up right away. - LOL at Josey getting robbed by a crack head then the dude shot him with a piss filled squirt gun. That's going to end well for the crack head. - And it did - John John is the most accommodating hit man ever