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

Basically a masterpiece, but there’s something just stopping me from giving it 5 stars. It’s just a little too long winded, a little too confusing at times, but still one of the most well crafted books I have ever read.

I’m in awe of James’ writing style, how he effortlessly switches between the myriad of characters and still makes it easy for us to go with the flow, picking up a new voice and way of storytelling that never feels out of place from the previous chapter.

This was honestly not what I expected, and not what I assumed going into it - I did think there would be more emphasis on Bob Marley, as that’s definitely how the book was marketed. However, the lack of “The Singer” didn’t even let me down, as every other character was so absorbing that I never felt I wanted any less of them all.

Sometimes the politics and economics was all a bit much, but maybe that’s just me as someone who has no idea about most of any of what was mentioned. I feel like I learnt a lot about Jamaica and its politics and people and the 70s/80s and drugs/gangs etc in America as well. It definitely kept me hooked throughout.

And even though most of the characters were awful, evil people - I ended up liking so many of them, or at least feeling attached to them. Especially Weeper. And definitely Nina Burgess (and all her many other names). Every character felt very real and alive to me, and because I’ve been reading this book solidly for like a week now, I honestly think I’m going to miss this world and it’s inhabitants now I’m not with them anymore.

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Nothing like ending a reading project with a bang. A Brief History of Seven Killings was the final book for my project of reading every book featured in This is the Canon. Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books and what a cracker of a book it was. It felt epic in scope with a truly large and varied cast of characters, was told from fourteen different points of view, and its action spanned two countries and two decades. Part of the plot centred around a real life assassination attempt on Bob Marley, referred to here as the Singer, and its aftermath, but the full plot was much more complicated, involving the intersection of criminal gangs, the drug trade, Rastafarianism, political parties and the machinations of the CIA, with explorations of race, class, colonisation, sexuality and gender woven in. It wasn’t just a crime novel; it really highlighted the socio-political history of Jamaica in the 1970s and 1980s. On top of that it also explored the concepts of storytelling and of beating witness. The overall tone was hardcore masculinity, often toxic and with plenty of violence, not normally my favourite, but here it worked for me. The story was compelling, grabbing my attention and never letting go, and the characters well-drawn and multi-faceted, without necessarily being likeable. James can sure write - the authenticity and range in his dialogues alone was impressive - and the audio production values were impeccable, really adding to the story. Not always an easy read but well worth it.

Content Warnings

emmanicoleman's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

kittenpuke's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

spacecars's review

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challenging dark informative sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

ktrain3900's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

You don't read this book so much as you experience it. Within the first hundred pages, I almost put it down and added it to my DNF collection. It's a hard world to enter--poverty, misogyny, foul language, racism, classism, explicit violence, casual death, homophobia so omnipresent you feel like you need a new word for it--and for some, it won't be doable (and that's fair). But if you can do it, you'll be rewarded with a rich, layered, albeit brutal, journey through both time and place. You stay for the characters, none of them shining, all suffering in their way, as they try to survive with whatever generally poor hand of cards they've been dealt. Definitely makes me want to read more by the author - the writing is just so well-done.

Content Warnings

mikayladlewis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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.

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