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A Brief History of Seven Killings

By: Marlon James
Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Cherise Boothe, Dwight Bacquie, Ryan Anderson, Jonathan McClain, Robert Younis, Thom Rivera
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Summary

Winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

On 3 December 1976, just weeks before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions, seven gunmen from West Kingston stormed his house.

Marley survived and went on to perform at the free concert. Not a lot was recorded about the fate of the seven gunmen, but much has been said, whispered and sung about in the streets of West Kingston.

©2014 Marlon James (P)2014 HighBridge
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Critic reviews

"Vast and teeming...a vivid novel that deserves all the praise it has received." ( Sunday Telegraph)
"This seething, hot, violent, action-packed novel is enormous in every sense...the ambition is huge, but [James] pulls it off with huge style, confidence, imagination and wit.... Extraordinary." ( The Times)
"The most original novel I’ve read in years. A haunting, incendiary work." (Irvine Welsh)

What listeners say about A Brief History of Seven Killings

Average customer ratings
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Spoiled by detailed violence

I would have appreciated this more if half the length and the essential violence (that sustains the atmosphere and fuels the plot) left more to the imagination than described in the details here. It is a problem with audio books that it is difficult to skip passages that you can see on skimming that you don't want to read. By the end of the book I could see why this won the Man Booker prize

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Confused

I found this book hard to read. It's was very confusing at time. I would not have carry on if I'd was not a book club book

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Totally brilliant

It's very long, it's hard to get into but it's soooo worth it. I got on a lot better when I went back to the begning armed with a google search of the full cast list and a quick brush up on Jamaican patois.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unique

A rare experience - a book and a reading that create a new genre. Totally absorbing and hauntingly memorable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Stunning

I'm delighted when I come across and audiobook which is likely to be better than the book in written form. This is a perfect example: the performances are astounding. The story is gripping and clearly a worthy Booker Prize winner.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Murder.

Genre stretching. Mind warping. Culture hacking. Ghetto Crashing. Mythology mashing. Discourse distressing. Sexy radical. Dubble funny.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A well deserved Booker winner

The book was fascinating and unexpected from start to finish. All the characters were well drawn and the rotating narrator was an excellent way of shining a light in the various facets of the tale.
Not for the faint hearted as it is a tale of violence and ghetto life from which no one is exonerated. Everybody has to get by and it is what you do to thrive or survive that defines you.
Excellent.
Highly recommended.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story told in REALLY bad Jamaican accents

I really like this book. I especially like the way the author moves through place and time fluidly within the telling of characters experiences.

The performance of this recording suffers from the REALLY bad Jamaican accents. How hard is it to find Jamaican actors. Please Audible, re-record this with real Jamaican actors, surely this is not hard to do. As a Jamaican I was cringing every time the obviously not Jamaican actors murdered my country's accent.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

impressive performance of a compelling story

Spanning several decades from the view point of multiple characters. This story takes you on a wild ride. While compelling, the jumps in story arcs will keep you on your toes and entices you to read / listen again.

The cast of narrators is top class giving each character their own identity.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good gangster story with depth.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

the best multiple cast audio book available

wow was blown away speechless
characters brought to life in amazing detail due to multiple narrator's not like anything you have listened before by far the best audible book I've heard 214 and counting 👍

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