Title: Voiceless Echoes of the Empire: On Reggae Music in A Brief History of Seven Killings

Abstract: A Brief History of Seven Killings, written by Jamaican American novelist Marlon James, centers on the attempted assassination of reggae icon Bob Marley, tracing over three decades of political shifts in Jamaica, with reggae music functioning as a central symbolic thread throughout the novel. Through an analysis of the intricate interplay between the spectral figure Sir Jennings and reggae，this study reveals the implicit transformation of colonial power and the gradual erosion of imperial discourse. The novel’s narrative framework resonates with Jacques Derrida’s hauntology. Taking music as a mediating force, the novel critiques the cultural hegemony exercised by Britain and the United States in the postcolonial era, while also suggesting potential pathways for marginalized groups to reconstruct power and to challenge structural inequality through cultural expression.

Keywords: Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings, reggae music, spectral narrative, political power transition

Authors: Xi Xi, Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China; Yutong Zhang, School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2026.03.009