“Too big. Too vast. Too intense. Too, too, too!” was how former cabinet minister Mary O’Rourke, revelling in her role as a member of the Eason’s Book Club on The Pat Kenny Show, began her thoughts on November’s book, A Brief History of Seven Killings. And while the novel has been celebrated around the world, even claiming this year’s Man Booker Prize, the panel were none too enthused.
Set in Jamaica in 1976, the plot revolves around the home of Bob Marley, the celebrated Reggae singer, where seven gunmen storm in, all guns blazing. Marley survived the attack, but the gunmen are never caught nor brought to justice. From Marlon James, the acclaimed writer, comes a novel described as “masterful storytelling exploring this near-mythic event.”
Spanning three decades and crossing continents, A Brief History of Seven Killings chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters - slum kids, one-night stands, drug lords, girlfriends, gunmen, journalists, and even the CIA.
Despite all of its acclaim around the world, it found almost none in the Dublin studios of Newstalk.
“It’s as big as the bible,” said comedienne Katherine Lynch, bemoaning the near 700-page tome and tiny print, “And it’s nearly as violent and as boring as the bible,” she added.
Singer Brian Kennedy also shared in pouring scorn over Marlon James’ book, saying it was written in a style that reminded him of going to the theatre to see a play in relentless monologue form.
“And you’re sitting there thinking, ‘When is the interval?’ so you can get up and leave!” Brian said.
The panel all found the subject matter interesting, particularly learning about the history of Jamaica, but ultimately found James’ book to be so much work, so much effort to plod through, so brutally raw in its violence and sexual assaults, so finicky in its linguistic choices that the book became homework, rather than reading for pleasure.
You can listen back to the full podcast from last week’s book club below.
The final segment of 2015 will take place in December, when the show goes live from Dublin’s Mansion House. The panel won’t be commenting on a single book, but instead will be talking about three each: Mary, Katherine, and Brian will each choose the one that got away, one book they wished their colleagues had chosen during the year instead, as well as, respectively, a book for a son & a friend, a boyfriend & a mother, and a niece or a nephew.
