'A Brief History of Seven Killings' is praised for its epic history
The new book 鈥淎 Brief History of Seven Killings,鈥� by Marlon James is receiving rave reviews for its wide-ranging plot and memorable characters.聽
In 鈥淪even,鈥� James looks at the history and culture of Jamaica, ranging from the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the 1970s, to the drug culture of New York in the 1980s, and then back to Jamaica, a changed country, in the 1990s. Characters include Nina, a Jamaican-born woman who moves to New York and works as a nurse, and Papa-Lo, a don in the city of Kingston.
Amazon selected 鈥淪even鈥� as one of its 10 best books of October althoug Amazon editorial director Sara Nelson noted that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not a peaceful or an easy read.鈥澛�
In addition to earning a slot on Amazon's "10 best" list, the book is garnering other praise as well. critic Michiko Kakutani called James鈥檚 novel 鈥渆pic in every sense of that word: sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex. It鈥檚 also raw, dense, violent, scalding, darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting 鈥� a testament to Mr. James鈥檚 vaulting ambition and prodigious talent鈥�. Mr. James鈥檚 characters 鈥� exhale their thoughts in language that is casually profane, and as kinetic and syncopated as music.鈥�
John Domini of the was also impressed.聽
鈥淭his compelling, not-so-brief history brings off a social portrait worthy of聽Diego Rivera, antic and engag茅, a fascinating tangle,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭he epic sweep of 鈥淪even Killings鈥� never feels cartoonish.鈥�
Laura Pearson of the occasionally found the number of characters confusing, writing that 鈥渢he reader has to regularly consult the cast of characters listed in the front of the book to put names in context,鈥� a concern shared by Kakutani. However, Pearson also found that 鈥渟ome of the narrative could arguably be condensed鈥� but wrote that the book is 鈥渁n impressive feat of storytelling: raw, uncompromising, panoramic yet meticulously detailed.鈥澛�
also noted the large cast of characters and called the book 鈥渙ccasionally patience-testing,鈥� but found that 鈥淛ames is masterful at inhabiting a variety of voices and dialects鈥�. [H]e has a ferocious and full character in Nina鈥�. But the book is undeniably overstuffed.鈥澛�
鈥淪even鈥� was released on Oct. 2.
