“A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James (Jamaica)
Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2015

Synopsis

On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven gunmen stormed the singer’s house, machine guns blazing. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Little was officially released about the gunmen, but much has been whispered, gossiped and sung about in the streets of West Kingston. Rumors abound regarding the assassins’ fates, and there are suspicions  that the attack was politically motivated.

A Brief History of Seven Killings delves deep into that dangerous and unstable time in Jamaica’s history and beyond. James deftly chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters – gunmen, drug dealers, one-night stands, CIA agents,  even ghosts – over the course of thirty years as they roam the streets of 1970s Kingston, dominate the crack houses of 1980s New York, and ultimately reemerge into the radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s. Along the way, they learn that evil does indeed cast long shadows, that justice and retribution are inextricably linked, and that no one can truly escape his fate.

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Join us online on either Thursday 5th or Friday 6th February 2026 to discuss this book with other readers. Final date will be set by mid-January 2026. Thanks for your patience. Tickets available via our ticketing service.

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Nicola’s Book Club reading list

Season 26 – Book Award Winners (Nov 2025 – May 2026)

“Against The Loveless World” by Susan Abulhawa (Palestine) – Winner of the Palestine Book Award 2020
“A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James (Jamaica) – Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2015
“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico) – Winner of the Dublin Literary Award 2021
“The Garden of Evening Mists” by Tan Twan Eng (Malaysia) – Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize 2012