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]
Synopsis
The novel has five sections, each named after a musical track and covering the events of a single day:
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 Mathews 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]
Characters
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Greater Kingston from 1959
Sir Arthur Jennings, former politician, deceased
The Singer, reggae superstar of the world
Peter Nasser, politician, strategist
Nina Burgess, former receptionist, presently unemployed
Kim-Marie Burgess, her sister
Ras Trent, Kim-Marie’s lover
Doctor Love / Luis Hernán Rodrigo de las Casas, CIA consultant
Barry Diflorio, CIA station chief, Jamaica
Claire Diflorio, his wife
William Adler, former field officer, CIA, now rogue
Alex Pierce, journalist, Rolling Stone
Mark Lansing, filmmaker, son of Richard Lansing, former CIA director
Louis Johnson, field officer, CIA
Mr. Clark, field officer, CIA
Bill Bilson, journalist, the Jamaica Gleaner
Sally Q, fixer, informant
Tony McFerson, politician
Officer Watson, police
Officer Nevis, police
Officer Grant, police
Copenhagen City
Papa-Lo / Raymond Clarke, don of Copenhagen City, 1960–1979
Josey Wales, head enforcer, don of Copenhagen City, 1979–1991, leader of the Storm Posse
Weeper, gang enforcer, Storm Posse head enforcer, Manhattan/Brooklyn
Demus, gang member
Heckle, gang member
Bam-Bam, gang member
Funky Chicken, gang member
Renton, gang member
Leggo Beast, gang member
Tony Pavarotti, enforcer, sniper
Priest, messenger, informer
Junior Soul, informer/rumored Eight Lanes spy
The Wang Gang, gang based in Wang Sang Lands, affiliated with Copenhagen City
Copper, gang enforcer
Chinaman, gang leader near Copenhagen City
Treetop, gang member
Bullman, enforcer
The Eight Lanes
Shotta Sherrif / Roland Palmer, don of the Eight Lanes, 1975–1980
Funnyboy, gang enforcer and second-in-command
Buntin-Banton, coleader and don of the Eight Lanes, 1972–1975
Dishrag, coleader and don of the Eight Lanes, 1972–1975
Outside Jamaica, 1976–1979
Donald Casserley, drug trafficker, president, Jamaica Freedom League
Richard Lansing, CIA director, 1973–1976
Lindon Wolfsbricker, American ambassador to Yugoslavia
Admiral Warren Tunney, CIA director, 1977–1981
Roger Theroux, field officer, CIA
Miles Copeland, CIA station chief, Cairo
Edgar Anatolyevich Cheporov, reporter, Novosti News Agency
Freddy Lugo, operative, Alpha 66, United Revolutionary Organizations, AMBLOOD
Hernán Ricardo Lozano, operative, Alpha 66, United Revolutionary Organizations, AMBLOOD
Orlando Bosch, operative Omega 7, United Revolutionary Organizations, AMBLOOD
Gael and Freddy, operatives, Omega 7, United Revolutionary Organizations, AMBLOOD
Sal Resnick, journalist, New York Times
Montego Bay, 1979
Kim Clarke, unemployed
Charles/Chuck, engineer, Alcorp Bauxite
Miami and New York, 1985–1991
Storm Posse, Jamaican drug syndicate
Ranking Dons, rival Jamaican drug syndicate
Eubie, head enforcer, Storm Posse, Queens/Bronx
A-Plus, associate of Tristan Phillips
Pig Tails, enforcer, Storm Posse, Queens/Bronx
Ren-Dog, enforcer, Storm Posse, Queens/Bronx
Omar, enforcer, Storm Posse, Manhattan/Brooklyn
Romeo, drug dealer, Storm Posse, Brooklyn
Tristan Phillips, inmate, Rikers, member of Ranking Dons
John-John K, hit man, carjacker
Paco, carjacker
Griselda Blanco, drug lord, Medellín cartel Miami operations
Baxter, enforcer for Griselda Blanco
The Hawaiian Shirts, enforcers for Griselda Blanco
Kenneth Colthirst, New York resident, 5th Avenue
Gaston Colthirst, his son
Gail Colthirst, his daughter-in-law
Dorcas Palmer, caregiver
Millicent Segree, student nurse
Miss Betsy, manager, God Bless Employment Agency
Monifah Thibodeaux, drug addict
Reception
James' novel was widely 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.
Awards
The book was awarded the
2015 Booker Prize. This was the first time that a Jamaican-born author had won the prize.[7] 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.[8]
^"The Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2015 shortlist is revealed"Archived 25 September 2015 at the
Wayback Machine, The Man Booker Prize website, 15 September 2015.
The 680-page epic was "full of surprises" as well as being "very violent" and "full of swearing". Set across three decades, the novel uses the true story of the attempt on the life of reggae star Marley to explore the turbulent world of Jamaican gangs and politics.
Wood said the judges had come 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".