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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder
This grows a lot in hindsight. The brevity surprised me initially, but it lends the novella an almost breathless quality that makes the titular foretold death incredibly shocking and uncomfortable. Which is quite the feat because YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THE WHOLE TIME. Not on a level with One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera, but that's not a fair barometer anyway.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
What if you had a murder mystery that was told backwards?
That is a gross oversimplification of Marquez’s brilliant, layered, and intelligent depiction of a town where every person knew a murder was about to take place. He perfectly captures the psyche of the citizens as a whole and each individual’s interaction or lack thereof with the murder.
Having just read Phil Roth’s American Pastoral, I think the man could take a page out of this story when it comes to Marquez’s non-linear storytelling. The story isn’t told chronologically, and because the narrator is a journalist researching the event many years later, the story jumps around as the necessary information is slowly given to the reader about the murder and everyone’s involvement. Also, Roth could look at the use of an investigative narrator because Marquez’s narrator is detached enough to chronicle the event but also involved enough to give us his opinions and history with the event. Basically, what Roth couldn’t do in 427 pages, Marquez did in 120. (Yeah, I’m still mad at Roth.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time most anticipated reads because of my love for magical realism and Marquez’s writing, so as I work my way through his shorter works, I have a feeling it’s gonna be an all-time favorite. I’m excited to read more of his work, to say the least.
That is a gross oversimplification of Marquez’s brilliant, layered, and intelligent depiction of a town where every person knew a murder was about to take place. He perfectly captures the psyche of the citizens as a whole and each individual’s interaction or lack thereof with the murder.
Having just read Phil Roth’s American Pastoral, I think the man could take a page out of this story when it comes to Marquez’s non-linear storytelling. The story isn’t told chronologically, and because the narrator is a journalist researching the event many years later, the story jumps around as the necessary information is slowly given to the reader about the murder and everyone’s involvement. Also, Roth could look at the use of an investigative narrator because Marquez’s narrator is detached enough to chronicle the event but also involved enough to give us his opinions and history with the event. Basically, what Roth couldn’t do in 427 pages, Marquez did in 120. (Yeah, I’m still mad at Roth.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all-time most anticipated reads because of my love for magical realism and Marquez’s writing, so as I work my way through his shorter works, I have a feeling it’s gonna be an all-time favorite. I’m excited to read more of his work, to say the least.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Español: Es un libro corto pero impactante. En la primera linea del libro ya te cuentan que a Santiago Nasar lo iban a matar, pero la forma en la que la historia esta escrita lo hace una lectura superinteresante y magistral. Un clasico.
English: It's a short but impactful book. In the first line of the book you're already told that Santiago Nasar is going to be killed but the way in which the book is written makes it a really interesting read and a magisterial book. A classic.
English: It's a short but impactful book. In the first line of the book you're already told that Santiago Nasar is going to be killed but the way in which the book is written makes it a really interesting read and a magisterial book. A classic.
Here mate, they twins are going about saying they’re going to kill you btw
It’s one of those books that you can’t shake off long after finishing it. So much writerly and idealogical skill is packed into its brief 120 pages.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes