Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - A Brief History of Seven Killings

I started this book as an ebook but quickly switched to the audio, this is a book that I would recommend knowing the context of it before you pick it up. Since it is told from multiple perspectives, it can be confusing to follow the storyline, however I think that the author's writing was perfect for the story.
I think the readers for the audiobook did an amazing job in portraying their characters and it definitely made this book an easier read.
I will admit, I got a little lost at times but could quickly piece together any missing parts as the story went on. I think getting to the flow of the story is more important than understanding every single word. There is definitely a lot of difficult content in this novel, but I think the author has done a brilliant job in portraying the messiness of life and the messiness of Jamaica during this time period.

Content Warnings

panoptican's review

Go to review page

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

chalkletters's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

At some point, I must have read a review of A Brief History of Seven Killingswhich intrigued me enough to buy the book, but I no longer remember it. A brief look online didn’t provide much in the way of clues as to why I thought this would be enjoyable. The historical context of an assassination attempt on Bob Marley was completely unfamiliar, and the phrase ‘crack wars in New York City’ not exactly promising for an entertaining read.

Marlon James’ style feels intentional; each character has a different voice, using 'the Singer’ instead of Bob Marley’s name elevates him to a mythic figure and the stream-of-consciousness changes to reflect the emotional and mental states of his characters. Unfortunately, going in with no prior knowledge of events combined with vast array of narrators and the overload of detail made it difficult to pick out which people and events would prove to be important. The narrative is hard work for an uninformed reader, especially the middle section where the chapters are long enough to feel exhausting.

A Brief History of Seven Killings is also, as is to be expected, incredibly violent. As well as the advertised assassination and drug wars, there’s a lot of background violence, both sexual and otherwise, which certainly didn’t lighten the emotional load any. The Gallows Pole was similarly violent, but A Brief History of Seven Killings had none of that poetic prose to ease the relentlessly miserable experience almost all of the characters were having.

What Marlon James did well was ratchet up the tension, especially just prior to the assassination attempt, but also before other explosive events. Even with no knowledge of what was coming, it was obvious that something was about to go down, which was emotionally engaging.

A reader who picked up A Brief History of Seven Killings because the blurb or real-life history sounded intriguing would probably enjoy it, this book just wasn’t for me, and I blame that more on whatever I read that interested me in it more than I blame it on the book itself.

Content Warnings

mattgroot1980's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

thecolourblue's review

Go to review page

challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a magnus opus for James. This book is a decade-spanning, genre-spanning work that drew me into a world that I didn't have a huge amount of knowledge on going in. The book is a challenge to read (not because of the Jamaican patois necessarily, or even the stream-of-consciousness writing style, but because it throws you in the deep-end of an intense, violent and complicated world without waiting for you to catch your breath) but so very much worth it. Even when I thought there was no way the book could end with any sort of satisfying conclusion, James' pulled it back together, balancing every thread and character arc masterfully. The only element I felt kind of fell by the wayside and wasn't fully incorporated into the story was that of the supernatural ghosts, that just seem to exist on the periphery.

Content Warnings

stennes_basil's review

Go to review page

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Content Warnings

More...