First Jamaican author wins Booker prize
Kounteya Sinha
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Reggae king Bob Marley was to perform at the Smile Jamaica concert on December 3, 1976, to ease political tensions ahead of the country's general elections when seven men stormed his house with machine guns. He survived and went on to perform at the concert, but left the country the next day and didn't return for two years.Jamaican novelist Marlon James wove this plot to explore the country's politics, gang wars and drug trafficking for his 686-page novel ` A Brief History of Seven Killings', which on Tuesday won him the Man Booker Prize.
James, the first Jamaican born author to win the Booker, said he was so certain that he would not win that he did not prepare an acceptance speech. “I'm not an easy writer to like,“ he said, referring to his experimental style.
Michael Wood -chair of the five judges who selected the five judges who selected James's book from a shortlist of six titles -praised the 44year-old's stylistic range and his unflinching exploration of violence, cronyism and corruption. “It's a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about,“ he said.The short-list included `The Year of the Runaways' by UK-based Indian origin writer Sunjeev Sahota.
James was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He worked in advertising for more than a decade. He inherited his father's love of literature -the two of them often reci ted Shakespearean soliloquies to each other. His first no vel, `John Crow's Devil' was published in 2005 and second `The Book of Night Women' came in 2009. His first novel was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. and his second book won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award.
James, who spent four years working on `A Brief History of Seven Killings', said he first envisioned it as a short crime novel. Instead, the story morphed into an epic tale retelling the near mythic assassination attempt of Marley , who is referred as `The Singer', through witnesses, FBI and CIA agents to killers, ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards' drug dealer. Crediting Charles Dickens as one of his formative influences, James, now a resident of Minneapolis, said, “I still consider myself a Dickensian. I still believe in--plot, surprise, cliff hangers.“
(With inputs from agencies)
James, the first Jamaican born author to win the Booker, said he was so certain that he would not win that he did not prepare an acceptance speech. “I'm not an easy writer to like,“ he said, referring to his experimental style.
Michael Wood -chair of the five judges who selected the five judges who selected James's book from a shortlist of six titles -praised the 44year-old's stylistic range and his unflinching exploration of violence, cronyism and corruption. “It's a crime novel that moves beyond the world of crime and takes us deep into a recent history we know far too little about,“ he said.The short-list included `The Year of the Runaways' by UK-based Indian origin writer Sunjeev Sahota.
James was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He worked in advertising for more than a decade. He inherited his father's love of literature -the two of them often reci ted Shakespearean soliloquies to each other. His first no vel, `John Crow's Devil' was published in 2005 and second `The Book of Night Women' came in 2009. His first novel was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. and his second book won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award.
James, who spent four years working on `A Brief History of Seven Killings', said he first envisioned it as a short crime novel. Instead, the story morphed into an epic tale retelling the near mythic assassination attempt of Marley , who is referred as `The Singer', through witnesses, FBI and CIA agents to killers, ghosts, beauty queens and Keith Richards' drug dealer. Crediting Charles Dickens as one of his formative influences, James, now a resident of Minneapolis, said, “I still consider myself a Dickensian. I still believe in--plot, surprise, cliff hangers.“
(With inputs from agencies)
Source: Times of India, 15-102015
