February 2016 Book Club Book: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by The Blackfish, Jan 27, 2016.

  1. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    Finished. Not sure how I feel. Gonna let it marinate for a few hours before my final thoughts.
     
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  2. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    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...

    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.
     
  3. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    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
     
  4. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    I'm just over 25%... If I could describe this book in a word, that word would be "Meandering"
     
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  5. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
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    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.
     
  6. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    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.
     
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  7. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    Starting this today
     
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  8. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    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.
     
  9. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    Yeah that's how I felt. I'm into it now though.
     
  10. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    34%. Not really much of a 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.
     
    #60 Gonff, Feb 18, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2016
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  11. KJROD20

    KJROD20 the ends will justify the means.
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    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.
     
  12. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    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.
     
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  13. The Blackfish

    The Blackfish The Fish in Black
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    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.
     
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  14. laxjoe

    laxjoe Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
  15. Gonff

    Gonff Prince of Mousethieves
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    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.
     
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  16. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    I gave up 35% through. Gave it a 3.5/10.
     
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  17. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Also I'm never mad when I try out a new genre, it just didn't work for me.
     
  18. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    Same. Gave up. :(
     
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  19. Truman

    Truman Well-Known Member
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    :feelsbadman:

    Sorry dudes.
     
  20. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    I made it much farther than I did with Cloud Atlas, so it wasn't my least favorite book club book.
     
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  21. Gin Buckets

    Gin Buckets Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
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