Bob Marley-inspired novel wins Man Booker Prize
by Staff Writer,
2015-10-14 11:54:20.0
A NOVEL inspired by the real-life attempted murder of reggae star Bob Marley has won the coveted Man Booker Prize for 2015‚ awarded in London last night.
The author‚ Marlon James‚ who lives in Minneapolis‚ the US‚ is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in its 47-year history.
The novel‚ A Brief History of Seven Killings, is described as "a 686-page epic with over 75 characters and voices".
Set in Kingston‚ where James was born‚ the book is a fictional history of the attempted murder of Marley.
On December 3 1976‚ just weeks before the general election and two days before Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica concert to ease political tension‚ seven men from West Kingston stormed his house with machine guns. Marley survived and went on to perform at the free concert. But the next day he left the country and did not return for two years.
A Brief History of Seven Killings takes the form of an imagined oral biography‚ told by ghosts‚ witnesses‚ killers‚ members of parliament‚ drug dealers‚ conmen‚ beauty queens‚ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents‚ Man Booker said in a statement. "The story traverses strange landscapes and shady characters‚ as motivations are examined – and questions asked‚" it added.
"This book is startling in its range of voices and registers‚ running from the patois of the street posse to the Book of Revelation. It is a representation of political times and places‚ from the CIA intervention in Jamaica to the early years of crack gangs in New York and Miami. It is a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about. It moves at a terrific pace and will come to be seen as a classic of our times‚" Michael Wood‚ chair of the judges‚ said in a statement.
In addition to his £50‚000 prize and trophy‚ James also receives a designer bound edition of his book and a further £2‚500 for being shortlisted.
In addition‚ Britain’s Royal Mail is issuing a congratulatory postmark featuring the winner’s name‚ which will be applied to UK stamped mail from October 14-17.
Previous Man Booker Prize winners include Salman Rushdie‚ Margaret Atwood‚ Iris Murdoch and JM Coetzee.
James’s other novels include: John Crow’s Devil‚ which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize‚ and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. His second novel‚ The Book of Night Women‚ won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award.
The winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize was chosen from 156 entries. The other finalists were: Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) for The Fishermen; Tom McCarthy (UK) for Satin Island; Sunjeev Sahota (UK) for The Year of the Runaways; Anne Tyler (US) for A Spool of Blue Thread and Hanya Yanagihara (US) for A Little Life.
RDM News Wire
Bob Marley. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
A NOVEL inspired by the real-life attempted murder of reggae star Bob Marley has won the coveted Man Booker Prize for 2015‚ awarded in London last night.
The author‚ Marlon James‚ who lives in Minneapolis‚ the US‚ is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in its 47-year history.
The novel‚ A Brief History of Seven Killings, is described as "a 686-page epic with over 75 characters and voices".
Set in Kingston‚ where James was born‚ the book is a fictional history of the attempted murder of Marley.
On December 3 1976‚ just weeks before the general election and two days before Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica concert to ease political tension‚ seven men from West Kingston stormed his house with machine guns. Marley survived and went on to perform at the free concert. But the next day he left the country and did not return for two years.
A Brief History of Seven Killings takes the form of an imagined oral biography‚ told by ghosts‚ witnesses‚ killers‚ members of parliament‚ drug dealers‚ conmen‚ beauty queens‚ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents‚ Man Booker said in a statement. "The story traverses strange landscapes and shady characters‚ as motivations are examined – and questions asked‚" it added.
"This book is startling in its range of voices and registers‚ running from the patois of the street posse to the Book of Revelation. It is a representation of political times and places‚ from the CIA intervention in Jamaica to the early years of crack gangs in New York and Miami. It is a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about. It moves at a terrific pace and will come to be seen as a classic of our times‚" Michael Wood‚ chair of the judges‚ said in a statement.
In addition to his £50‚000 prize and trophy‚ James also receives a designer bound edition of his book and a further £2‚500 for being shortlisted.
In addition‚ Britain’s Royal Mail is issuing a congratulatory postmark featuring the winner’s name‚ which will be applied to UK stamped mail from October 14-17.
Previous Man Booker Prize winners include Salman Rushdie‚ Margaret Atwood‚ Iris Murdoch and JM Coetzee.
James’s other novels include: John Crow’s Devil‚ which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize‚ and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. His second novel‚ The Book of Night Women‚ won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award.
The winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize was chosen from 156 entries. The other finalists were: Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) for The Fishermen; Tom McCarthy (UK) for Satin Island; Sunjeev Sahota (UK) for The Year of the Runaways; Anne Tyler (US) for A Spool of Blue Thread and Hanya Yanagihara (US) for A Little Life.
RDM News Wire
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