hplreads's review against another edition
4.0
Full review: http://hotpepperlatte.com/index.php/2016/11/28/brief-history/
Less is better than more when discussing A Brief History. Truly it is a piece of work which has been staged as an experience — to reveal too much is a disservice to each delicious turn and surprise connection which is better enjoyed when you toil through it. At 600+ pages with each chapter alternating between characters, the book feels like a friend telling you a short story only to realize that every detail is important. At times I felt impatient. Becoming drawn to certain characters or certain moments more than others. My eyes would skip ahead a page and discover that I missed something and had to go back. I reread pages many times to make sure I understood.
The characters speak in their native voices so you have to switch gears from patois, both well-educated and not-very-much-so, American, and Cuban, each with their own sets of slang. It takes some time to adjust to each voice, further slowing down the reading process, but also makes the immersion into the story that much deeper. There was something soothing about not being talked down to. It made the reading experience feel more authentic and believable, so much so I that found myself Googling to check whether events were real.
Less is better than more when discussing A Brief History. Truly it is a piece of work which has been staged as an experience — to reveal too much is a disservice to each delicious turn and surprise connection which is better enjoyed when you toil through it. At 600+ pages with each chapter alternating between characters, the book feels like a friend telling you a short story only to realize that every detail is important. At times I felt impatient. Becoming drawn to certain characters or certain moments more than others. My eyes would skip ahead a page and discover that I missed something and had to go back. I reread pages many times to make sure I understood.
The characters speak in their native voices so you have to switch gears from patois, both well-educated and not-very-much-so, American, and Cuban, each with their own sets of slang. It takes some time to adjust to each voice, further slowing down the reading process, but also makes the immersion into the story that much deeper. There was something soothing about not being talked down to. It made the reading experience feel more authentic and believable, so much so I that found myself Googling to check whether events were real.
hannepdx's review against another edition
1.0
I love a book by a Macalester professor, but I just couldn't get through the dialect.
marybinzley's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
From a literary perspective this is really well-written/crafted, but it’s just not my thing. It was hard for me to follow all the characters and really feel invested in the story.
From a literary perspective this is really well-written/crafted, but it’s just not my thing. It was hard for me to follow all the characters and really feel invested in the story.
71nikki's review against another edition
2.0
Just couldn't get through all of this. Gave it the old college try, but after 250 pages had to give up. So much of if is written in a Jamaican accent and using local slang, plus the alternating narrators and long list of characters, just made it too difficult to follow.
sonicdonutflour's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Took a while to really get going, but once it did I could not put it down. Fantastic novel and good companion guide for researching post-independence neocolonialism in Jamaica.
old_tim's review against another edition
5.0
All I knew about this was that it won the Man Booker Prize & it was about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley.
It turns out that Marley is merely a void around which a portion of the book circles. Eventually it is apparent that The Singer (as he's called) is really incidental to the story that James wants to tell.
It's Grahame Greene by way of James Ellroy. Multiple POVs, strong dialect. It's a profane, violent, shocking look at third world slums and American Imperialism.
It's an absolutely brilliant book.
Now to go read his other work.
It turns out that Marley is merely a void around which a portion of the book circles. Eventually it is apparent that The Singer (as he's called) is really incidental to the story that James wants to tell.
It's Grahame Greene by way of James Ellroy. Multiple POVs, strong dialect. It's a profane, violent, shocking look at third world slums and American Imperialism.
It's an absolutely brilliant book.
Now to go read his other work.
wyatt046's review against another edition
2.0
I found this to be really difficult to read. The dialogue is tough to understand. A lot of it is in Jamaican dialect and the content can be difficult as well. While I'll agree w/ a lot of reviews that writing is ambitious, at the end of the day I didn't really get any enjoyment or insight out of this book.
lulu365's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 = Hmm. I really don't know how I feel about this book. It was a great story, but I wasn't able to grasp the greatness. I started off with the hard-copy, but that didn't work. So I switched over to audio and e-book. I was able to fly through the audio, probably because it's easier to listen to patois than it is to read it. Through listening I was able to pick up on things that I couldn't through text. I want to say that I will learn more through a second reading, but being honest with myself....I'll probably never pick this book up to read again. I will however watch the HBO film whenever it comes out and I KNOW it will be one of my favorites.
fernclair's review against another edition
4.0
Here's the thing, I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book - The same way I wouldn't say I enjoyed an incredibly hard puzzle. But once you get past the writing style, this book is beautifully written, with compex characters and a really unique story.
I've read Marlon James other books, and while I enjoyed them more than this one, this book was definitely a incredible thing to read.
I've read Marlon James other books, and while I enjoyed them more than this one, this book was definitely a incredible thing to read.