“The
Jamaican novelist Marlon James won the Man Booker Prize on Tuesday for his
novel A Brief History of Seven Killings,
a raw, violent epic that uses the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976
to explore Jamaican politics, gang wars and drug trafficking. Mr. James is the
first Jamaican-born author to win the Man Booker, Britain’s most prestigious
literary award. At a ceremony at London’s Guildhall, Mr. James said he was so
certain that he would not win that he did not prepare an acceptance speech.
The
Booker judges praised Mr. James’s stylistic range and his unflinching
exploration of violence, cronyism and corruption…..”
So, why
am I posting the above here? Because of
the following short YouTube video, in which Marlon James, speaking at an indie
bookstore before he had any idea about winning that prestigious prize, briefly speaks
about one of his writing influences…..(who else?)….Jane Austen!:
Although
I recommend you invest the few minutes required to watch the video, so you can
experience the real person and his speaking voice, here is my transcription of
the brief but telling reference to Austen:
“This
is something I learned from Jane Austen….which is the last name I bet you
expected to hear today, right? (laughter) But Jane Austen has a way, especially
in a novel like Pride & Prejudice,
where her most unsavory characters have the realest worldview. So, Elizabeth’s best friend marries Mr.
Collins, who nobody wants,…But Elizabeth’s best friend knows what time it is.
If she don’t get married, she’s gonna end up in a poor house, destitute,
somewhere. She knows what time it is …”
He is
on Twitter, and so I Tweeted this to him earlier today about Elizabeth’s best
friend:
Congrats!!
Charlotte Lucas was a lesbian in love with Eliza B. & really did know what time it was! http://tinyurl.com/q5fm6yb
(I’ll
let you know if he responds, I expect he is getting a great deal of richly
deserved attention today. I’ve ordered the prize winning novel from the
library, I am very curious to read it)
Cheers,
ARNIE
@JaneAustenCode
on Twitter
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