A review by dummyhuey
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

The narration is equal parts dazzling as well as dizzying (however the latter shouldn’t take anyway any enjoyment). This is a book whose scope is far reaching and from 30 decades of Jamaican political turmoil and the CIA’s role as neocolonialists during the Cold War. It is also a deeply fascinating exploration of international Jamaican identity, queer sexuality in the 80s drug cartels, and the exposed fleshy bits of ripping a story from the most underexposed parts of African diasporic history through inadvertent means. I walked away with my ears ringing from gunshots and with a new appetite for the grisly polyphonic.