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A review by siobhanward
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a cool premise and was mostly well executed, but boy was it long. It felt a lot like it could have lost 200-300 pages and not been greatly impacted. There felt like there was a lot of build up that then fizzled out, but the build up was so strong that it definitely made the book better.
I think part of the challenge is that there were a ton of characters - James used them well (and having a who's who at the beginning helped a ton), but it felt at times like there were whole chapters where not a lot happened and we learned little about the character it focused on. I think fewer of these chapters would have made things a lot better. I was happy to have learned so much about a time and place I knew nothing about (1960s-80s Jamaica) and James did an excellent job bringing readers up to speed about what was happening at the time without it feeling like a textbook.
I think part of the challenge is that there were a ton of characters - James used them well (and having a who's who at the beginning helped a ton), but it felt at times like there were whole chapters where not a lot happened and we learned little about the character it focused on. I think fewer of these chapters would have made things a lot better. I was happy to have learned so much about a time and place I knew nothing about (1960s-80s Jamaica) and James did an excellent job bringing readers up to speed about what was happening at the time without it feeling like a textbook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Gun violence, Drug abuse, and Drug use