Publishers rejected Marlon James' first novel 78 times . His resilience paid off.

James, 44, won the 2015 Man Booker Prize at a ceremony at London's Guildhall on Tuesday for his nearly 700-page, third novel, "A Brief History of Seven Killings."

He is the first person from Jamaica to win the prestigious literary award.

His novel , a fictional retelling of the attempted murder of Bob Marley in 1976, explores Jamaican politics, race and other societal conflicts.

Read: HuffPost's Review Of 'Seven Killings '

In an interview with GQ, James explains that although his novel contains personal stories, he was unable to ignore the larger societal and political issues in Jamaica.

"I'm not trying to make a big statement or a message, but I am trying to make sense. I am trying to make sense of something my country went through. Because it makes no sense!" he told the magazine.

He added, "I just don't think people -- certainly not in Jamaica -- get the luxury of escaping politics."