A Brief History of Seven Killings

Historical Fiction is not a genre I ever really expected to get into. The idea of history, even if possibly semi-accurate, reminded me of school and felt dusty. I’m pretty sure Don Delillo’s books broke me out of this mindset. His major work Underworld is big on my list. It didn’t hurt that his books based in history that I did read were set in the 60’s, the decade I was meant to be alive in. I’ve read some others, including heavyweight E.L. Doctorow and even pushed on to some actual Non-Fiction (I love Havana Nocturne, by T.J. English) but these have been phases or quick runs and have not remained steady choices. So what’s your problem Bro? The thought of wiping a thin film off some tome from the attic was stuck in my head. Something felt like assigned reading. Couldn’t do it, even in detention.

This concept was crushed by A Brief History of Seven Killings. Not solely because the history it deals with is fairly recent but more that the subject of the story has been something I’ve at least thought I’ve known about since I was a kid, the attempted assassination of Bob Marley.

Can I safely guess we all had a Bob phase as kids? And that most days we would rather be reliving that phase instead of waking up for work? We do mainline nostalgia here at the Bro sometimes, but lets take it a little farther. Can it be possible to grab that past fondness and pull it into today and, oh man repeat metaphors, dust it off and see it new? Ok, slow down Bro, but this is what Seven Killings did for me.

Understand, this is not the story of Bob Marley for grown ups. He is not the main character, only the point the different narratives revolve around for a large part of the story. He is referred to only as the Singer and exists as a shadow. Facets of his life that are less than CD booklet friendly are woven in, they really pop up and fade as a subtext, maybe a soundtrack. If you were ever a Bob junkie they will be familiar at first and then a little unsettling. The documentary Marley that came out a few years ago did this too, we now know Bob was kind of a dick sometimes, but Killings makes the rumors alive, they crawl and show themselves and hide again. There are surprising or maybe shocking moments but then the story rolls on. Things I knew were affirmed and new things surprised me. But this is historical fiction, not a documentary, so we have to let these pieces remain suggestion, even mystery.

Actual events and the real horrors of Jamaican ghettos in the 70s were not as familiar to me as details of the Singer’s life. Killings doesn’t go over them like a text book, though after a while the horrors are so frequent they do feel like a list and this does get a little tiring. The book is endlessly brutal. But the voices keep it moving.

A lesser writer could have tried to stretch each narrative into a complete novel. Gang lords, CIA Agents, Groupies, Hippie Writers, a Ghost and more I may have forgotten each get their chapters. The story is long but its complexity through these different points of view pull it more towards a spy novel or some massive generation-spanning thriller than straightforward historical fiction. Not every piece is nail biting or suspenseful and at these times the small facts about the Singer or other pop culture fragments of the times carry things along, but you feel something building, and the lives of the characters matter.

That being said, please let me indulge and introduce the best new bad guy of modern literature. Here he is, Mr. Josey Wales. He’s a murdering thug on his way to kingpin status positioned directly opposite the Singer. Their lives are driven together, they circle each other then bounce off into different violent directions. We question the Singer the most through Josey's eyes. If we give his voice its fair moment, we can question a lot more. Despite being the most prolific killer of the book, his words are also the most pragmatic. His philosophies are cruel and realistic and if we believe their stance in opposition to the Singer’s words a vortex is created that pulls us down even below the story into the depths of the book that may be hard to come out of.

Easy, Bro. I’m just saying he’s my favorite part. He’s better than Scarface, if you’re asking me. He might even compare to the Judge, for those of you with a little Cormac going on. There, I said it. Decide for yourself, then lets talk about that whole vortex thing.

Let’s get back to work. The book is big and takes some time. It will be up for awards next year for sure. The author, Marlon James, has a few other works that I am not familiar with but I can guarantee his name will be heard again and frequently. There’s one character that doesn’t seem to have a solid place other than to jump the story from Jamaica to New York but if that what it takes, so be it.

I can’t be sure how James learned all of things he did that make up the book. Even if he interviewed people who were alive and present at the time or were near the real people or foundations for characters he couldn’t have found everything in straightforward sources. There are no textbooks or liner notes that contain the pieces of this story the way he tells them. The Singer’s lyrics might be a solid link to the events. They stand out on the page, even if you aren’t familiar with them all.

The words to Natural Mystic appear in the book more than once. I hope that doesn’t ruin anything for you. It was the most gratifying part of reading for me so I have to mention it. I can’t explain why the song is such an important piece of my personal mythology, I’ve tried, but I do see it as the only Marley song dark enough to represent this story.

Maybe the darkness of the song is why it matters to me. Seven Killings may have dragged that back from old times. I’ll have to go on figuring the rest out. Though I know its impossible, to go living through the past.

Oh man, swear I didn’t do that on purpose. The headphones were on, I couldn’t help it.