A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

Before I get into talking about this book in-depth, I just want to start by saying that I really really disliked it. Probably more than I've disliked a book for a long time! Which very much pains me to say, because I always try to find redeeming features in everything I read, even if it isn't really my thing. I had heard about Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings and how critically acclaimed the book is, having won (as well as being shortlisted for) numerous awards, including the 2015 Man Booker. I try not to let the critical acclaim cloud my judgement, but having heard all the praise it's pretty hard to not have high hopes for book.

The premise of the novel is the events surrounding the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, referred to as 'The Singer', in 1976, and the aftermath of this. James has divided the book into five sections, each named after a musical track: "Original Rockers: December 2, 1976"; "Ambush In The Night: December 3, 1976"; "Shadow Dancin': February 15, 1979"; "White Lines/ Kids in America: August 14, 1985"; and "Sound Boy Killing: March 22, 1991". Each section of the novel explores a single day in time. Might I mention that this book is almost 700 pages long, so a LOT of time is dedicated to these particular five days. 

The first part of the novel is set in Kingston, Jamaica, and around the events of the Smile Jamaica Concert in December 1967, performed by Bob Marley & the Wailers - which almost didn't happen due to the attempted assassination in his own home just two days earlier. These chapters refer to the political violence which was occurring between rival gangs associated with opposing political parties in Jamaica at the time, the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party, including involvement from the CIA.

Aside from understanding the general premise and plot surrounding the crime and the exploration of the various gunmen, I have to be honest and admit that for much of this novel, I really had no idea what was going on. This may be due to the fact that the novel has over 75 characters (some with multiple names or nicknames!), which were outlined in a character list at the start of the book. So having to keep flipping back and working out who was who was pretty tough going. Marlon James also (masterfully, I have to say) utilised extensive Jamaican patois which I did struggle to follow for a lot of the text. 

The tough part is that James gives you no contextual grounding, but just chucks you in at the deep end. The first chapter is narrated by a ghost, which doesn't exactly place you confidently in an opening narrative voice. There is very little (well, none) historical background given about where you're starting and what has already happened, you very much begin in media res. If the patois wasn't hard enough to get your head around! Even though I did begin to piece together the connective threads, it was just all a little too disjointed for my liking. 

Plus, I would say I'm pretty de-sensitised to horrible stuff happening in books - but this one is horrifically violent. Trigger warning for gun crime (naturally), explicit use of drugs (particularly those administered intravenously), reference to violent sex and also rape. Pretty nasty stuff and, to be quite honest, not that enjoyable to read about for 700 whole pages. I may be a sensitive soul but I think anyone would find some of this difficult to read. 

I have to say that I understand why this book was so well received as conceptually, it really is an impressive novel. Before reading it I had very little knowledge about the political and social climate of Jamaica during this period, so I've definitely learned a lot. The novel is sold as a book about Bob Marley and the attempted assassination, but there are a lot more themes at play here: the hardships of women, the corruption of the police, the drug trade, and the unstable government. Many storylines intertwined, and some I did find gripping and enjoyable. But with over 75 characters to keep tabs on, I think it was all just a bit of an overload!