26. A Brief History of Seven Killings

By Marlon James (686 pp, also audiobook)

It took me over a year to get through this book. Don't get me wrong: it is amazing writing and a great story. But for this reader, it was tough going. It's set in Jamaica and the story is around the events of the attempted assignation of Bob Marley. There are several sections starting in 1976 and ending in 1991. It's told in a number of voices, many with a heavy patois (if that's the correct way to use that word). It's also super violent and graphic and also meandered at times. I had trouble getting into the book so I got the audiobook and thought listening and reading at the same time would help me stick with it. And it did except then I could only work on the book when I could sit there with the audiobook. I eventually switched back and forth, some parts reading and some parts listening, sometimes going back over a part twice. The audiobook is a fantastic performance. It's a really great book and I recommend. But I had to put in some effort to finish it.