Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings Wins the 2015 Man Booker Prize!
A Brief History of Seven Killings was announced to be the winner of this year’s Man Booker Prize. Marlon James gets to take home £50,000 in addition to the prestige of winning the award.
This year’s judges (Michael Wood (chair), Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, John Burnside, Sam Leith and Frances Osborne) reviewed 156 books under consideration.
The Shortlist was made up of the following books:
- Marlon James (Jamaica), A Brief History of Seven Killings
- Tom McCarthy (UK), Satin Island
- Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), The Fishermen
- Sunjeev Sahota (UK), The Year of the Runaways
- Anne Tyler (US), A Spool of Blue Thread
- Hanya Yanagihara (US), A Little Life
Marlon James is the first Jamaican-born author to be shortlisted for the prize, let alone to win the prize. A Brief History of Seven Killings explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s. It is an examination of Jamaica’s troubled and violent history that spans decades and touches upon a variety of characters including drug dealers, journalist, and many others. It was a recipient of the 2015 American Book Award and was named best book of the year by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Time magazine.
Book Worm liked this book and you can read her review of his book here. We both predicted that he would win the prize. My copy is on its way and I plan to read it as soon as it arrives.
You can purchase your copy here: A Brief History of Seven Killings
Have you read the book? What did you think? Was it worthy of winning the prize? Do you plan to read it?
Book Worm
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Nicole Del Sesto
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