Marlon James is a Jamaican novelist, who has been teaching English and creative writing at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, since 2007.
He is the author of the 2014 novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, a reimagining of the attempted murder of Bob Marley and a narrative of Jamaican history. James’ long, sprawling, masterfully woven together novel finds its redemption in the indomitability of the human will to live, and its light in a sly, sardonic humor that finds its way in amongst the horrific violence and grinding, Sisyphean cycle of misery. Though it by no means makes for a brief read, or an easy one, it’s a brilliant, heartbreaking and searing one that will burrow its way deep into the reader’s soul.
OK Ladies are we ready for this?
There are seventy five characters listed in the beginning of this book !!!
I am hoping to learn a lot about a culture new to me and am looking forward to the challenge I am sure this story brings.
I thought perhaps for my own benefit to keep my questions fairly simple this month.
So,
Did we enjoy this story?
What was the most significant thing we have learnt?
Is it a read we would recommend to others?
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteHow are you both?
Life here is going well and the weather is slowly cooling down. I love this time of year, it is perfect hiking and picnicking temperatures.
OK… So about our story this month. I have had a major fail with it. I have been trying to read it for weeks. I seem to have been able to find time to read everything else but this book. Today, I put “The Tree Bride” on my bedside table, so I can only conclude ’Seven Killings’ may continue to go unread. I am so sorry for my lack of commitment with this story, I feel slightly better that it was my choice, so no hard feelings for me.
I have read a portion of the story and found it very difficult to understand the slang and language used by the gang members and was concentrating on decifering meaning and then losing the thread of the story. I found when I was reading Trainspotting I had a similar experience.
The violence depicted in the slum areas of Kingston was shocking and the drug dependance and gang mentalities was horrifying in its realism.
I realise this novel has a very important story to tell and no doubt deserves the awards and literary praise it has received. My inability to stick it out is in no way is a criticism of the novel only my own lack of ability to understand.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this novel, I know they will be so much more insightful than mine. Once again , I’m sorry to you both.
regards Nancy
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteThank goodness, Nancy. I got to page 90, but what a struggle. I was beginning to have some sympathy with Papa-Lo, who in another life might have been a poet: 'But tonight I look from my verandah and the night keeping secret close.' But you know from the awful stuff you've read already that as the old power he's probably going to come to an awful end - and I've never read awful ends described so graphically. Bam-Bam's drug fuelled visions were sickening. Given what happened to Bam-Bam and his family earlier you are full of dread as to how it will end for him.
The hopelessness was just overpowering.
How the author lived with this for as long as it took to write it I don't know. And given that this is probably some people's everyday life, I must stop complaining about the politics here - child-like in comparison.
So, Nancy, a real learning experience despite the fact that I couldn't stomach the horrific images, or make any real headway with the sheer volume of the material - or the patois, which really slowed up my reading speed. Thank you for writing your review so promptly and thus letting me off the hook.
Beyond the reading, it's good to have Jay back. He's torn a ligament in his knee but has seen the physio and is doing the exercises. Mum is doing amazingly well, Dad less so. Now the snooker championship has finished, I don't know what he's going to do with himself. I'd like him to tell me about his life, but he clearly can't be bothered. Perhaps in a few weeks . . .
Hope the hiking and picnicking are going well, Nancy - and don't worry about the book. It was a real experience and I need to be taken out of my comfort zone. As we can see, I won't stay out of it long.
Katie, I bet you're going to tell us how brilliantly Mr. James writes and how terrific the ending was. Hope you and your family are doing well, that spring/early summer are going as well as they are going here, and that you're contented with life.
Take care of yourselves ladies
Much love to you both
Sue
Hello to you both.
ReplyDeleteI cannot completely say that I read our book through its entirety. I was in the upper 400’s when I read that you both threw in the towel and was instantly relieved! From that point onward I skipped entire chapters, and hopped in and out of different sections for the remainder of the novel. Mostly I was curious as to what was going to happen to Nina.
Sue, you were right about Papa-Lo and Bam-Bam both meeting with terrible endings. I never learned who killed Sir Arthur Jennings or why on earth we had to have his ghost narrate to us. Not sure if it was in one of the chapters I skipped or if it just never came up again. I never learned why we had to meet Barry Diflorio, Mark Lansing, and a slew of other characters that never appeared in the latter half of the novel. The last grouping of chapters continues with an individual character narrating but takes away the name of which character is talking which makes the last section most confusing of all.
On the whole I struggled with our novel. I work with a woman who grew up in Jamaica during the timeline of our book. First I had her translate a lot of the slang. She taught me years ago to say “wha the r’ass” but “bombocloth” was new to me. I also passed her Seven Killings at lunch one day and she flipped through it. She said all the violence was like reliving her childhood. She said it was nothing to walk out of her house, step over a dead body, and continue to school. One of the dons graduated from the high school she attended. If one of the rival gang members saw a kid in the uniform of his alma mater, the kid would be dragged off the bus and killed. She said she wouldn’t put on her uniform tie and skirt until she got to school. From the little bit of Seven Killings she read, she said it was accurate.
To answer your questions Nancy: No I did not enjoy this month’s book and no I would not recommend it to others. That’s ok though because we have read a lot of other novels that I did like and have recommended. It certainly took me out my comfort zone as we try to do periodically. Like I said, I was so relieved that you both could not get into it either. I no longer feel like I was letting our club down. And I agree Nancy, a lot of energy was spent trying to decipher slang and thereby losing intent of the story. If either of you is curious about any part of the novel, I’ll tell you what happened if there was ever an answer to your question. Like I said, no idea about the dead politician.
I am excited for summer. Ready for nice hot days outside with the kids. Hopefully next month’s book is easier to get through. Thank you both for continuing our lovely little club!
Katie, you are brilliant. As is your colleague who lived through all that, who survived it and is able to comment on it in a matter-of-fact manner . . . . I can't tell you how impressed I am. She must be a very strong woman. If James's book has brought all that violence, corruption and sheer horror to the attention of the world then that can only be a good thing. I just hope the world has a better stomach for it than I have - and provided a more intelligent response, too.
ReplyDeleteI skipped to the end of the book (surprise!) and thought the last entry was Nina who was finally calling her sister, Kimmie - or maybe Kimmie calling Nina. Either way, there was clearly going to be some kind of rapprochement, which was a positive outcome. Josey was burned to death in prison? And here I am, worrying about Theresa May's right wing policies favouring the rich! I've no idea, I really haven't.
Far from letting the club down, Katie, you stand alone in your dedication to the cause of reading. Wonderful woman! I hope you are rewarded with those nice hot days you are looking forward to.
In admiration
Sue