Quantcast
Channel: Reading group | The Guardian
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 523

The end of A Brief History of Seven Killings – and our reading group

0
0

After 700 gruelling pages, Marlon James finishes on a note of uncertain hope that leaves the reader wondering

The final line of Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings is: “–Kimmy?” It may not be “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”, or “He loved Big Brother”. But in the context of everything that has gone before in this 700-page novel, it is a resonant ending.

The word “Kimmy” tells us that one of the novel’s lead characters and narrative voices, Nina Burgess, has made a phone call home and tried to reconnect with her sister. After all the chaos and fear; after fleeing Jamaica; after years of precarious living under assumed identities; after catastrophically falling out with her family: Nina finally picks up the receiver and speaks to her sibling. Maybe. Because, we’re left with that question mark. We don’t actually know that it’s Kimmy who answers, let alone how the rest of the conversation goes. James leaves us wondering – which is a fine way to go out.

Continue reading...

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 523

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images