Marlon James - Man Booker Prize Winner 2015

Jamaican author Marlon James has won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. The novel is based on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976 and James says that a huge part of the novel was inspired by reggae music. 686 pages long with over 75 characters from CIA agents to drug dealers, the novel features gang violence, drugs and graphic sex but also lots of laughs.

In a New York Times review, Michiko Kakutani said of the novel
“It’s like a Tarantino remake of “The Harder They Come” but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner, with maybe a little creative boost from some primo ganja.”

In addition to his £50,000 prize and trophy, James also received a designer bound edition of his book and a further £2,500 for being shortlisted. He can also expect a dramatic increase in sales of the book.