Alright, now that I digested it, I think I really like this book. The story, it's characters and components were really really interesting. It was just so damn hard to read with the construction and dialect and formatting of it. Saw this compared to a Tarantino movie. I think that's a good comparison. Lots of moving discombobulated parts that come together at the end directly and indirectly. Also, saw that HBO optioned this. It would make a great TV show imo. Because... Spoiler All along I felt like there were parts that felt like a Jamaican The Wire. This book has a lot of cool shit. CIA facilitating an assignation attempt on Marley, Cold war pressure wtih Cuba, Colombian Cartel, NYC Gangs ect. All pretty cool but the story was told from the margins. Never really got in the middle of the action, but different perspectives. That was kind of the frustrating part. Trying to piece together what was happening, without really knowing. I was right that Nina=Kim=Darcus. Yay me. We finally got the reason she was running, she was one of the few eye witnesses of Josey shooting Marley. Like she said though, it was doubtful he'd ever recognize her. Either way - it clearly scared her enough to bounce. Thought it was interesting to call her sister once she knew Josey died, even though her sister was so spiteful. One thing Im lost on is who the shooter is that marley forgave and took into his inner circle. IIRC, It was Josey and Weeper with a handful of boys Bam-Bam and Deemus who died. Was it just one of the other randoms I guess? There wasn't really a finality that I was hoping for, but I was satisfied w the ending. At the end of the day, im glad I read it. While the journey was often times hard and frustrating, I liked it and thought it was worth my time.
Also A lot of this followed real events and people very closely. I spent almost as much time on Wikipedia as on the book. Learning about a bunch of shit about 60s/70s/80s Jamaica was really fun
I know the point of a book club is to read stuff we otherwise wouldn't, and in the past I've been a big fan of that. But I really have no desire to dive back into this book and I'm at the same point you are.
I've decided I really like this book. It took me a little while to get into because I don't really listen to Bob Marley any more than the average person and have never been super interested in Jamaican politics. However I'm now interested in the characters and what is going on. I think so far I'm enjoying the Barry DiFlorio and Josey Wales chapters the most. 62% in.
7% in Is okay so far. Even with all the foreign vernacular and POVs, I can tell it's written well. I know pretty much zilch about Marley, outside of the stuff everyone knows. Not sure how much this book is really written for me as the target audience, but I'll keep on reading.
34%. Not really much of a spoiler. Spoiler It's better now but I would say that it's still a bit of a chore for me. I enjoy the Barry/Alex chapters most, probably because they're the easiest to understand. I also think it's funny the CIA guy is named Barry because the first image that popped into my head was Jon Favreau's character in I Love You Man. Nina's fight with her parents was pretty depressing. I now hate Kimmy.
First time reading the thread and I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to figure out if I like it or not. Just reading really slow, only 60 pages in and feels like I've been reading it for a while.
68% I just haven't been able to get too into this. It's written well and I'll finish, but the story just doesn't do much for me.
I gave it a 6.5 and a 3 on good reads. I really enjoyed parts of it, but I just didn't love it overall. Book was very well written and wasn't hard to get through but just never really sunk it's hooks deep in me. I'm glad I read it though and think it was a good book club choice.
Pretty much exactly this for me. It wasn't bad, but just never grabbed me. It sat unread for about a week and a half.
Finished earlier. I liked the last 100 pages or so the best. Again, I think this book was written well. But it just wasn't really my thing. Glad I read it, though, especially if it's going to be adapted by HBO.
Great choice for the Book Club... This was a Booker winner and a seemingly interesting storyline. I'd have wanted to give it a shot regardless.