“Sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzingly complex.”
—The New York Times
Man Booker Prize-winner Marlon James captivates the literary world with his
unique style, most recently showcased in the internationally-lauded A Brief
History of Seven Killings.
On February 17, James speaks with author and UBC Creative Writing
Instructor, Ian Williams, about his anticipated new epic novel, Black
Leopard, Red Wolf, just days after its official launch.
Combining African history, mythology and his own rich imagination, James’
deeply involving novel is an immersive saga of adventure, described as an
addictive page-turner; “a literary event that’s great fun to read.”
It’s also the first novel in James’ Dark Star trilogy.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf follows Tracker: a hunter engaged by a mysterious
slave trader to track down a boy who disappeared three years earlier. He
breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a
group that comes together to find the boy. The band is a hodgepodge, full
of unusual characters with secrets of their own, including a shape-shifting
man-animal known as Leopard. As Tracker follows the boy’s scent—from
one ancient city to the next, through dense forests and across deep
rivers—the band is set upon by creatures intent on destroying Tracker and
his cohorts. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who,
really, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many
people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most
important question of all: who is telling the truth and who is lying?
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear about the creative process behind a
new modern classic.
