Jamaican author Marlon James has won the Man Booker Prize for his novel inspired by the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the 1970s.
Michael Wood, chair of the judges, described A Brief History of Seven Killings as the “most exciting” book on the shortlist. The 680-page epic was “full of surprises” as well as being “very violent” and “full of swearing”. James was announced the £50,000 winner on Tuesday night at London’s Guildhall.
He is the first Jamaican author to win the Man Booker Prize. Receiving the award, he said a huge part of the novel had been inspired by reggae music. “The reggae singers Bob Marley and Peter Tosh were the first to recognize that the voice coming out our mouths was a legitimate voice for fiction and poetry.”
The 44-year-old author was presented with his prize by the Duchess of Cornwall. He admitted it was “so surreal” to win and dedicated the award to his late father who had shaped his “literary sensibilities”. Set across three decades, the novel uses the true story of the attempt on the life of reggae star Marley to explore the turbulent world of Jamaican gangs and politics.
This is the second year the Man Booker prize has been open to all authors writing in English, regardless of nationality. James, who currently lives in Minneapolis, US, can expect a dramatic boost in sales following his win. After A Brief History of Seven Killings was named on the Booker shortlist last month sales tripled to more than 1,000 copies a week, according to Nielsen Book Research.
Wood said the judges had come to a unanimous decision in less than two hours. He praised the book’s “many voices” – it contains more than 75 characters – which “went from Jamaican slang to Biblical heights”. He said: “One of the pleasures of reading it is that you turn the page and you’re not quite sure who the next narrator will be.”
But he acknowledged that some of the content might be too much for some readers.
