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Summary: A good place for anyone interested in Marquez to start.
Review: Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the most genuinely artistic of 20th century authors. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was the first of his books that I read and while I loved the story there were times when the sheer size, scope and density of that work was very intimidating. It wasn't until my second reading that I was able to fully digest the power of the book and appreciate the consumate artistry it embodied. For those who want a little bit of a lighter introduction to Marquez, "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" is a good place to look.The story is deceptively simple: A young girl in a South American village (a setting almost all Marquez's works share) is married and it is found that she has already lost her virginity. Her brothers are then bound by honor to kill the man responsible, an act they have no interest in doing but do nonetheless because no one will stop them. I am giving nothing away here, all the details of the story are revealed in the first few pages. What elevates this simple story to the grand level of all Marquez works is the brilliant structure and execution. Marquez succeeds, as always, in putting a fresh spin on a timeless plot. Marquez gives us the events leading up to the murder from several different angles and with each different angle a new wrinkle in the fabric of the story unfolds. What we learn is that there scarcely a person in the whole town who could not have helped rescue the victim from his early end. The killers did not hide their mission, on the contrary they announced it to whoever crossed their path and delayed the doing of the deed until they could not wait any longer. It is this fact which sticks with the reader of the book long after he has finished reading and Marquez explores the question of responsibility at length. I recommend that "Chronicle of Death Foretold" be read as an intro to Marquez and if you like it then move on to the more imposing works like "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Autumn of the Patriarch". For those Marquez fans who have not "Chronicle of Death Foretold" yet, I encourage them to do so right away. It easily hold up to his best material, even within its smaller framework.
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Summary: Review of Chronicle of a Death Fortold
Review: The depth of Marquez's work continues to astound me with everyturn of this novel's pages. Chronicle of a Death Fortold describes amurder that a whole town had a hand in. Subliminally, the author adds in the huge hispanic issues of machismo, racism, and the importance of virginity in marriges.
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Summary: An Interesting Social Commentary
Review: What I first enjoyed about this novel was the feeling of being tansported to a different place. I am fascinated by Latin American and it's people, so to have the opportunity to read a novel such as this was very appealing to me. Marquez develops a very interesting, thought-provoking situation, providing the reader with a catalyst for examining one's own viewpoints that, normally, one would not consider. What I also liked about this book, since I read it in a classroom environment, was the fact that it's very interesting to hear other's opinions on the subject matter. What IS this book really about? What are our American values as opposed to the values of this small town? Is this type of marraige between two people a good idea? All of these questions were asked in class, and it provided for some very interesting discussion. I would highly recommend this book to teachers looking for a catylst for discussion about diverse world social values, and also to people who are interested in Latin American culture. While I am sure that this book does, in a way, stereotype the traditional mysoginist point of view many Americans feel Latin Americans hold, it is still a good way to start a debate on that, while at the same time, examining our own values as U.S. citizens. The parallels between their culture and ours is, at times, very pardoxial. A great novel!
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Summary: A different type of fiction
Review: In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, though it is supposed to be a fictional mystery, actually the this story is based on a real one encountered by the author 27 years beforehand. This novel also relays the strict traditional culture of Latin America. During the time of the story, parents still arranged marriages and girls always had to be virgins when they got married. If the girl was not a virgin she would be returned to her family with a cursed name and not able to marry again. No respectable or wanted bachelor would want a girl who is not a virgin, a girl who is not pure. The family of the Vicario's were very angry and the brothers wanted to seek revenge and kill Santiago for taking their sister's virginity. So the story ends in tragedy, because the Vicario brothers are jailed and Angela is exiled from her hometown because of her cursed family and her mother. In this story I enjoyed the characterization and writing style of this novel. This is an excellent book to help the reader learn about Latin American culture and to understand traditional values. This is a novel that holds your interest and it great for adults of all ages.
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Summary: wonderful reading
Review: Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Marquez is an excellent book. Written in a investigative-reporting style, it contains suspense, satire, and irony. The setting of the book is a small town in Colombia. The plot is simple: two brothers have a responsibility, by tradition, to kill a man accused by their sister as her perpetrator. Although the brothers take on the task it seems that they are not very comfortable with the idea of committing a murder and they don't let any opportunity go by when they announce their intentions to the towns people (almost in hope that someone will stop them). The irony lays in the fact that almost the whole town knows about the brothers' plan way before the victim or his mother finds out. Marquez does a great job satirizing religion, the legal system and the society as a whole. The reader is told about the murder in the first few pages of the book but the narrator reveals the details slowly through out the book. The book makes you think: what would you do if you were in the shoes of one of the characters? how could you have prevented the death foretold ? how would you deal with a similar situation in real life: would you caution the victim and notify the authorities or would you be indifferent (thinking that someone else will do it)? The book was fun and interesting to read. I recommend Chronicle of Death Foretold highly especially if you are a looking for a mystery book which takes you in another culture this should be your first pick. Plus its easy and quick to read.
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Summary: Gabriel Marquez's style is very unique
Review: Marquez's investigative reporting syle is very interesting and make helps make the book easy to read. His style distiguishes this book from many other I have read. The characters are not as developed as i would have liked. The characters are developed through the opinions of the others in the town. The whole story is told through heresay from what the townspeople observed. The question of if Angela was telling the truth about her and Santiago's love affair is never clearly stated. Marquez's whole investigation is to try and understand what really happened to his best friend. The whole investigative reporting style brings so many charcaters into the book is is hard to keep track of all of them. There is a lot of satire and irony in this story also. There is satire on religion and law mostly. In this book they live in a time when machismo and family honor are valued greatly. Men want to be the machoist of them all. In Spanish countries machismo is very important and determines how much of a man you are. The Vacario brother were showing their machismos and tring to keep the family honor when they murdered Santiago.
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Summary: Brilliant Novel
Review: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's brilliant novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, is a journalistic perspective of the events surrounding a murder. Wriiten as a narrative, Marquez reports in a style unlike any other, while exposing his talent for the use of literary techniques, most importantly dramatic and situational irony. His effective and profound satire on religion and the law add to the strength of the book as a whole. Marquez's use of his original technique, magical realism, makes the novel even more unique. This adds surreal aspects to the plot which are characteristic of Marquez alone. Although Chronicle is humorous at times, Marquez never allows the reader to forget the purpose of his story. He slowly feeds the many layers of the story to the reader, who is eager for every bite. I highly recommend this piece of literature, not only as a good mystery, but as a story with a theme which has relevence for anyone's life.
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Summary: Narrative Style Is Key
Review: The novel "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was an enthralling novel that transformed a simple plot into a satirical work of art. Marquez was able to accomplish this through a narrative technique known as investigative reporting. It was through this dry, objective voice that he was able to slowly reveal the plot while building suspense and conveying his thoughts on society in a discrete and sardonic manner. One example of Marquez's narrative style was his slow revelation of details regarding the murder, telling the story several times, each time revealing more key details. At first, the author only gives basic facts and the perspective of the families. "'When I saw him safe and sound I thought it had all been a fib,' he told me. No one even wondered whether Santiago Nasar had been warned, because it seemed impossible that he hadn't" (Marquez 22). Here the author states the facts about his friend Santiago, the victim of the murder, with little emotion. Not once in the novel does the narrator convey to the reader how he feels; rather he paints a portrait to evoke emotion in the reader. "It was a matter of honor" (Marquez 56). Next, after giving some simple facts, Marques identifies the motive of the killer. However, by wrapping up the loose ends, he leaves even more questions, which perpetuates the reader's interest in the novel overall. "Nevertheless, what had alarmed him most at the conclusion of his excessive diligence was not having found a single clue, not even the most improbable, that Santiago Nasar had been the cause of the wrong" (Marquez 126). Here, near the end of the novel, Marquez informs that his serious matter was all the result of lies and impulsiveness. Before this point, the author gave little evidence whether or not Nasar was the perpetrator; in one paragraph he surprises the reader with the fact that Nasar was most probably identified by Angela as the "criminal" because she knew he would except his death and not cause many problems. This revelation also satires the murderers' motives who killed Santiago based on anecdotal evidence for a crime Angela was equally guilty of. The author successfully conveys to the reader that the machismo complex has become obsolete and satires it through the plot. Thus, it is clear that what gave the book its depth and inspiring aspects was, for the most part, Marquez's narrative technique. Without his objective reporting style, the book would have been no more than an uninteresting book with a simple storyline.
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Summary: marquez the journalist
Review: Gabriel Garcia Marquez never fails to delight with his work, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold is no exception. Having been to Columbia and experienced the milieu he describes; his stories are all the more enjoyable and lifelike. Chronicle presents a journalistic-style account of the ultra-machismo that pervades rural Latin America. The minute detail and unrelenting dedication to exact time makes for interesting reading. Is it possible that everyone but the victim themselves knows they will be killed? In a small town? The combination of seemingly improbable oversights reaches the point of frustrating the reader. Having discussed it with people familiar with similar circumstances, however, I am inclined to believe that this is nonetheless a feasible situation. Superstition and fear are rampant in Colombia, especially in the backwoods. In an effort to avoid blame or repercussions it is possible that all the citizens of a small town would neglect to notify the target of his imminent doom. The style used in Chronicle is deceivingly complex. The journalistic narrative is filled with irony and satire that never fully capture the author's sentiments. This combination of objectivity and personal insight provides a unique structure. Ideas are never stated directly but rather symbolically through the plot of the story. Santiago Nasar is a Christ figure who becomes a martyr for machismo; Marquez subtle way to criticize his culture. Religion also finds itself the subject of criticism. High officials are made to seem unreligious and even Marquez's sister the nun drinks and carouses. These details not only add to the reader's understanding but are funny as well. I have no reservations in recommending this excellent example of Marquez's semi non-fiction. For those with little time, Chronicle is a short and easy way to explore the world of Marquez's writing as long as you are not looking for his trademark magical realism.
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Summary: Generally a good work but, I could not get into it
Review: The premise of the novel is, actually quite interesting. The plot of the story is as interesting as any script turned out by the Hollywood studios. The novel has every ingredient to make it a bounified page turner. The major attention grabbers like intrigue, sex, and murder are very much a part of the story. From the opening chapters the reader can be swept away with the mysterious circumstances of Santiago Nassar's murder. Marquez then does a fairly decent job of making the novel feel like an investigative journalist piece. The way Marquez writes about the events that led up to that fatal moment for Santiago, makes a reader feel that his a part of the small town that was the setting for all the events in the novel. Also the novel gives great insight into culture I may have never come in contact with. Marquez paints a pretty descriptive picture of how deeply old traditions still had very firm grasp on the lives of the people in the town. The fact that Angela and her soon to be fiancée had never courted before their marriage was a throw back to times when that was how most marriages in the world took place, through arrangements. Also the notion that a young woman is worth something only if she is a virgin is also a nonsense notion that is a remnant of an older cultural influence. Despite all the good parts of the book, I just could not seem to get totally immersed in the story. However don't let that stop you, it is still a good book.
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