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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
When I first heard about this book it didn't appeal to me, but then when it won the Man Booker I couldn't bear not to read it. I don't have the intellect or vocabulary to critically review this, or say anything constructive, so all I can say really is I simply didn't enjoy it. A hard read in places, I found it difficult to keep track of the many characters, even with the cast list at the front of the book to which I frequently had to refer. One positive, my knowledge of patois has improved but I don't think I'll be using any of these recently learnt words in polite company any time soon. I am full of admiration for the author's achievement, but for me reading this book just became a chore.
I loved how he was able to bring to life so many different voices. Sometimes, however, the exploration of these different individuals overtook the story telling. Still, it all paid off in the end.
Not for the faint of heart. Faulkner’s famed comment on the non-pastness of the past haunts the whole of the work, a dizzying cacophony of competing narrative viewpoints half-expressing events real and imagined, which swarm together in a complicated, sweeping, often brutal, enormously imaginative “history” tracing the shape of lives over the span of decades: with many, many more than seven killings along the way.
No início achei interessante, cada personagem com uma voz diferente e a escrita a acompanhar a forma de falar e de ser de cada personagem, mas depois cansei me depressa.
Não me consegui ligar a nenhuma personagem, fala-se de crime, violação e matar pessoas como alguém fala de fruta, a forma de escrita torna-se cansativa por não seguir as regras de gramática, o que entendo porque as personagens não falam inglês, nem têm estudos, mas comecei a desejar não ter pegado neste livro, quanto mais continuar
Não me consegui ligar a nenhuma personagem, fala-se de crime, violação e matar pessoas como alguém fala de fruta, a forma de escrita torna-se cansativa por não seguir as regras de gramática, o que entendo porque as personagens não falam inglês, nem têm estudos, mas comecei a desejar não ter pegado neste livro, quanto mais continuar
A novel about Jamaica from the Cold War to the Drug Wars, centered around the assassination attempt on Bob Marley.
ANY LANDING YOU WALK AWAY FROM IS A GOOD LANDING.
This was a great book but a hard read: history I didn't know, a lot of missing context, multiple POV characters whose voices are in a stream-of-consciousness style, tons of slang, a lot of name-switching, and 700 pages. But the characters are great, the history fascinating, the style of telling adds and gives depth to the conflict, and I left the book with a different view of the world than when I started.
Think of this book as an epic saga that spans decades and characters, rather than as a narrative about Bob Marley per se; he doesn't show up all that much, more talked about than seen.
I recommend this book if you've taken on Naked Lunch and liked it. It's not quite as surreal, but this book will not do you wrong.
ANY LANDING YOU WALK AWAY FROM IS A GOOD LANDING.
This was a great book but a hard read: history I didn't know, a lot of missing context, multiple POV characters whose voices are in a stream-of-consciousness style, tons of slang, a lot of name-switching, and 700 pages. But the characters are great, the history fascinating, the style of telling adds and gives depth to the conflict, and I left the book with a different view of the world than when I started.
Think of this book as an epic saga that spans decades and characters, rather than as a narrative about Bob Marley per se; he doesn't show up all that much, more talked about than seen.
I recommend this book if you've taken on Naked Lunch and liked it. It's not quite as surreal, but this book will not do you wrong.
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Audiobook. Ironically neither brief nor about (merely) seven killings. It's a violent story, which normally isn't my thing, but the writing was so raw and authentic that it wasn't a deal breaker. Fair warning: not an easy book. There was no hand holding of the reader with helpful reminders of who various characters were. As a result I found myself constantly taking notes or consulting online plot summaries (thanks litcharts!) That may sound like a criticism, but in the end, I found it all very much worth it. Plus, when an author inspires you to engage and figure something out, that in and of itself is noteworthy.
I really enjoyed listening to this book, though it took some time to get into the style and characters. May be worth a second listen (or reading!) At some point to better appreciate the quality of writing and storytelling connecting so many seemingly disparate storylines.
This is one of those books that when you first reading, you know that it is brillant. While I didn't slog though the first 100-200 pages, it was a bit slow, but then it really takes off and you don't want to put down the book, even if you are not huge Marley fan.
The title is misleading. The book might feel brief, but at 600 plus pages, it isn't. There are more than seven killings, and quite a bit of talk about rape and violence against women. Yet to not inlude this aspect would have made the book false considering the period and setting.
Marlon James tells the story in quite a few voices, and as such, despite the names at the beginnings of each section, he trusts the reader to be paying attention. Not everything is spelled out, and quite frankly if you have been playing attention, the ending shouldn't be surprising at all. I always love it when I read a book whose author doesn't think readers are idiots.
The title is misleading. The book might feel brief, but at 600 plus pages, it isn't. There are more than seven killings, and quite a bit of talk about rape and violence against women. Yet to not inlude this aspect would have made the book false considering the period and setting.
Marlon James tells the story in quite a few voices, and as such, despite the names at the beginnings of each section, he trusts the reader to be paying attention. Not everything is spelled out, and quite frankly if you have been playing attention, the ending shouldn't be surprising at all. I always love it when I read a book whose author doesn't think readers are idiots.
Set in Jamaica during the cold war and surrounding the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, this novel follows the lives of several gang members, reporters and politicians connected to the events.
James uses multiple POVs to create a snapshot of that time, and build an intricate, slow-moving juggernaut of a book.
It reminded me of reading Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde years ago. The diction of some of James' characters is challenging. Like Middle English, I understand most of it if I'm reading carefully, but in a long sitting, it's exhausting. On top of the difficult diction, to have to steep myself in the POVs of such homophobic and misogynistic characters, to read through multiple violent sexual assaults, to suffer along with the internalized self-hatred of the one queer character, was all a little hard on my heart.
So, if you can handle difficult reading as well as graphic violence, and sexual assault, maybe this is the book for you. Probably not for me.
James uses multiple POVs to create a snapshot of that time, and build an intricate, slow-moving juggernaut of a book.
It reminded me of reading Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde years ago. The diction of some of James' characters is challenging. Like Middle English, I understand most of it if I'm reading carefully, but in a long sitting, it's exhausting. On top of the difficult diction, to have to steep myself in the POVs of such homophobic and misogynistic characters, to read through multiple violent sexual assaults, to suffer along with the internalized self-hatred of the one queer character, was all a little hard on my heart.
So, if you can handle difficult reading as well as graphic violence, and sexual assault, maybe this is the book for you. Probably not for me.