A Brief History of Seven Killings

A Brief History of Seven Killings is the third novel by Jamaican author Marlon James.^[1] It was published in 2014 by Riverhead Books.^[2] The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976 and its aftermath, through the crack wars in New York City in the 1980s, and a changed Jamaica in the 1990s.^[3]

A Brief History of Seven Killings

Cover of the 2014 hardcover edition
Author	Marlon James
Cover artist	Gregg Kulick
Language	English
Publisher	Riverhead Books
Publication date	2 October 2014 (hardcover, e-book)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	688
Awards	2015 Booker Prize
ISBN	978-1780746357

Synopsis

The novel has five sections, each named after a musical track and covering the events of a single day:

• “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”
• “Sound Boy Killing: March 22, 1991”

The first part of the novel is set in Kingston, Jamaica, in the build-up to the Smile Jamaica Concert held on 5 December 1976, and describes politically motivated violence between gangs associated with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP), especially in the West Kingston neighbourhoods of Tivoli Gardens and Matthews Lane (renamed in the novel as Copenhagen City and Eight Lanes),^[4] including involvement of the CIA in the Jamaican politics of the time. As well as Marley (who is referred to as "the Singer" throughout), other real-life characters depicted or fictionalized in the book include Kingston gangsters Winston "Burry Boy" Blake and George "Feathermop" Spence, Claude Massop and Lester Lloyd Coke (Jim Brown) of the JLP and Aston Thomson (Buckie Marshall) of the PNP.^[5]

Reception

James' novel was praised for its mastery of voice and genre, encompassing historical epic, spy novel, gang thriller and mythical saga all at once. Writing in Literary Review, Kevin Power praises Marlon James' energy and imagination in his characters' voices: "his command of a range of tones and voices approaches the virtuoso."^[6] However, Power notes the novel's lack of narrative momentum necessary to propel it through nearly 700 pages.

According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on 11 critics: 5 "rave", 4 "positive", 1 "mixed", and 1 "pan".^[7] In the January/February 2015 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored 3.5 out of 5. The magazine's critical summary reads: "Nonetheless, those with "stout heart[s], strong stomach[s] and prodigious powers of concentration" will find much to admire in James's demanding third novel (Minneapolis Star Tribune)".^[8][9]

Awards

The book was awarded the 2015 Booker Prize. This was the first time that a Jamaican-born author had won the prize.^[10] According to the BBC: "[Booker chair of judges Michael] Wood said the judges came to a unanimous decision in less than two hours. He praised the book's 'many voices'—it contains more than 75 characters—which 'went from Jamaican slang to Biblical heights'".

In a podcast interview, James said he spent part of the £50,000 Booker Prize money on a lamp in the shape of a life-size horse.^[11]

Awards for A Brief History of Seven Killings

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2014	National Book Critics Circle Award	Fiction	Shortlisted	[12]
2015	Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence	Fiction	Longlisted	[13]
	Anisfield-Wolf Book Award	Fiction	Won	[14][15]
	Green Carnation Prize	—	Won	[16]
	Man Booker Prize	—	Won	[17][18][19][20]
	Minnesota Book Award	Novel & Short Story	Won	[21]
	OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature	Fiction	Won	[22]
	PEN Open Book Award	—	Longlisted	[23]
2016	International Dublin Literary Award	—	Shortlisted	[24]

Television

HBO optioned the novel in May 2015 and is planning a television series, although no debut date has been announced.^[25]