The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim
Product ID: 37836565
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A much-awaited novel from an award-winning writer-- a reggae track of ancestral memory and the inexorable search for freedom. Bob Marley is dead. The Emperor Haile Selassie has been brutally murdered. The armed gangs of Kingston are at war and the murder rate soars. The people have lost all trust in self-serving politicians. It is hard to imagine worse times. The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim tells the twin stories of Jamaica's nihilistic violence and its wondrously creative humanity and does truthful justice to both. It takes place in the worlds of the living and in the vivid afterlife of the dead, spanning Kingston ghettoes, the Emperor's palace in Addis Ababa, and Zion. There is even a fallen angel. At its heart are the human stories of deaf Leenah who with her mother and daughter writes a powerful woman version of events; the relationship between Fall-down (a street madman and fallen angel) and Delroy an orphaned street-boy; and the meetings in the clock tower at Half Way Tree between Bob Marley, Marcus Garvey and the island's dead. But before all of this, there is the enslaved boy who was hung from the silk cotton tree in 1766. The novel sets out to retrieve the word at the tip of his tongue. Not the least of the novel's marvellous equations are the dread revenants who encourage the living to take responsibility for the future of the nation. Review: A must read for every adult or young adult! - I read Marvellous Equations of the Dread because I opened it and was pulled into Leenah's story. I wanted to find out what happened to the deaf girl and her lover, Bob Marley. That storyline would've been enough for me; it's quite beautiful! But along the way, I learned about Jamaica's history, it's struggles, and it's African roots. I learned about Marcus Garvey, and of Rastafarian tradition, and of love. This book is a compendium of the esoteric Jamaican experience; it is dancehall music, and geography, poetry, and reefer smoking. I cannot give a succinct account of this book, except to say that I am better for having read it. Marvellous Equations of the Dread is a lyrical and moving portrait of the Jamaican experience, from slavery to liberation. This book is a must-read for every black adult or young adult. I warn you, it is heart-rending! But the ride is well worth it! Review: Dreamy! - If poetry, prose, history and dreaming had a live child, it would be this book. Absolutely entrancing.
| Best Sellers Rank | #11,325,434 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #60,670 in Fantasy (Books) #314,633 in American Literature (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 51 Reviews |
H**R
A must read for every adult or young adult!
I read Marvellous Equations of the Dread because I opened it and was pulled into Leenah's story. I wanted to find out what happened to the deaf girl and her lover, Bob Marley. That storyline would've been enough for me; it's quite beautiful! But along the way, I learned about Jamaica's history, it's struggles, and it's African roots. I learned about Marcus Garvey, and of Rastafarian tradition, and of love. This book is a compendium of the esoteric Jamaican experience; it is dancehall music, and geography, poetry, and reefer smoking. I cannot give a succinct account of this book, except to say that I am better for having read it. Marvellous Equations of the Dread is a lyrical and moving portrait of the Jamaican experience, from slavery to liberation. This book is a must-read for every black adult or young adult. I warn you, it is heart-rending! But the ride is well worth it!
R**N
Dreamy!
If poetry, prose, history and dreaming had a live child, it would be this book. Absolutely entrancing.
C**R
Incredible storytelling from the roots of Jamaican culture
Absolutely loved this book! The connection to Jamaica and it's people, it's culture, it's history, it's music is really deep. And the way Marcia weaves all the stories together is a truly magical experience. Extremely poetic and lyrical, felt the bass riddim constantly as I read through the the pages and chapters, the various tracks and dubsides. I could feel the streets, hear the sounds, smell the rain and feel the heat of so many of the places Douglas talks about. Superb!
P**N
Jah live!
I love the Jamaican manipulation of words to make their meanings clearer. This is one of the few people I have seen who can capture multi level reasoning so well on paper. I feel like I’m walking with my old friend in rural Jamaica learning wisdom from his sayings when I read. I am savoring it chapter by chapter to prolong the enjoyment.
L**S
the best novel I ever read about Jamaica and its inhabitants
In my opinion, the best novel about Jamaica and its people. It has all the twists and turns of great suspense, but is done in such a fantastical and quirky way, that in the end it is not suspense that matters the most but the cultural experience you get from reading the book.
C**E
A must read if you love music, spec fiction, and strong women protagonists
absolutely compelling story
J**L
Challenging, fascinating, and worth every second
I wish this book would get wider attention. It is an unbelievable blend of history and herstory, myth and legend, music and words. Every note is meticulously played. It will be on my read-again list for a long time to come.
C**H
Dub feminism
If you love reggae and Bob Marley, or if you just love a great novel, you have to read Marvellous Equations. I think of it as a love story between Marley and the heroine Leenah, and a love song to Jamaica and the African diaspora. It's about how even when one is late for a rendezvous - by a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few years - they can still be on Nation Time.
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