Jamaican novelist Marlon James' novel A Brief History of Seven Killings is a sprawling novel covering the attempted assassination of famed musician Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976 and the aftermath of said attempt. It goes through the crack wars in New York City in the 1980's and a reformed Jamaica in the 1990's. Throughout the book, we're introduced to assassins, drug dealers, journalists, and ghosts. It is a lengthy book at 688 pages; many readers have said that it is also an exceptionally complex book with a great number of characters.
HBO optioned the novel and is planning to make it into a TV show. No release date has been announced, although the book was optioned in 2015 and no other information has been announced, suggesting the book is going through "development hell."
Upon release, A Brief History of Seven Killings received critical acclaim. In 2015, it was awarded the Man Booker prizes. Judges said they came to the decision within two hours, a record. On Amazon, it holds a respectable rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars. On book review aggregator site Goodreads.com, it holds a rating of 3.86 stars out of 5. NPR writes that they "highly recommend you pick it up."
