Books from Jamaica
30 popular jamaican books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around North America Challenge" were written by authors from Jamaica.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
1.
A Brief History of Seven Killings : WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2015 by Marlon James EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
JAMAICA, 1976 Seven gunmen storm Bob Marley’s house, machine guns blazing. The reggae superstar survives, but the gunmen are never caught. From the acclaimed author of The Book of Night Women comes a dazzling display of masterful storytelling exploring this near-mythic event. Spanning three decades and crossing continents, A Brief History of Seven Killings chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters – slum kids, one-night stands, drug lords, girlfriends, gunmen, journalists, and even the CIA. Gripping and inventive, ambitious and mesmerising, A Brief History of Seven Killings is... continue
2.
A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
American-born artist Chris is forced to reconsider his own concept of "family" during a visit to his mother’s Caribbean homeland. "Alecia McKenzie’s tender new novel [is] an emotionally resonant ode to adopted families and community resilience." --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice Shortlisted for the 2020 Caribbean Readers’ Awards (Best Adult Novel)! "Delightfully original, this novel centers Chris, an American who travels to his mother’s homeland of Jamaica to reflect and heal after tragedy strikes. What he encounters is unexpected, complicated and, perhaps, just what he needs." --M... continue
3.
A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
'Brimming with magic, passion and history' New York Times 'Captivating from the very first page' Jennifer Egan Shortlisted for the Fiction category in the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature Shortlisted for the Kitschies Red Tentacle Award Discovered amidst a tangle of sea grape trees, Moshe Fisher’s provenance is a thing of myth and mystery; his unusual appearance, with blueish, translucent skin and duo-toned hair, only serves to compound his mystique. Equally feared and ridiculed by peers as he grows up, he finds a surprising kindred soul in the striking and bold Arrienne Christie, but ... continue
4.
Augustown : A Novel by Kei Miller EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
PEN OPEN BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Slate • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Ma Taffy may be blind but she sees everything. So when her great-nephew Kaia comes home from school in tears, what she senses sends a deep fear running through her. A teacher has cut off Kaia’s dreadlocks—a violation of the family’s Rastafari beliefs—and this single impulsive action will have ramifications that stretch throughout the entire community. Kaia’s story brings back memories from Ma Taffy’s youth, including the legend of the flying preacherman and hi... continue
5.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
One of TIME’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time Winner of the L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award The New York Times Bestseller Named a Best Book of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, GQ, Vogue, and The Washington Post "A fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made." --Neil Gaiman "Gripping, action-packed....The literary equivalent of a Marvel Comics universe." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times The epic novel from the Man Booker Prize-winning author of A Brief History of Seven Killings In the stunning first novel in Marlon James's ... continue
6.
Breve Historia de Siete Asesinatos by Marlon James ES
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
De reggae-zanger Bob Marley lijkt een speelbal te zijn van politici en criminelen op Jamaica.
7.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
Risk everything . . . for love with this #1 New York Times bestseller. What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything, Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken. My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nu... continue
8.
Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis- Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love fo... continue
9.
House of Whispers Vol. 1: The Power Divided (The Sandman Universe) by Nalo Hopkinson, Neil Gaiman EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
One of four books expanding Neil Gaiman's acclaimed Sandman Universe. Welcome to the House of Dahomey, the houseboat of Erzulie Fréda, where the souls of Voodoo followers go when they sleep but even the fearsome Erzulie is powerless when her dream river turns sour, tossing her house from one realm and into another.. the Dreaming! From her bayou, Erzulie scries upon the mortal realm and sees four human girls open a mysterious and magical journal filled with whispers and rumors that, if they spread, could cause a pandemic unlike any the Earth has seen, with the power to release Shakpana, the loa... continue
10.
How to Love a Jamaican : Stories by Alexia Arthurs EN
Country: North America / Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
'In this thrilling debut collection Alexia Arthurs is all too easy to love.' - Zadie Smith Tenderness and cruelty, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and regret – these are the tensions at the heart of Alexia Arthurs’ debut book about Jamaican immigrants and their families back home. Some stories ask big questions about the things that define a person, others explode small moments of deep significance and lasting effect. Sweeping from close-knit island communities to the streets of New York City, How to Love a Jamaican offers a portrait of a nation, a people, and a way of life. Vibrant, lyrical an... continue