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A review by smithjasont01
Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"Since it's Sunday and it's stopped raining, I think I'll take a bouquet of roses to my grave."
A collection of 26 short stories pulled from other works of his and placed in chronological order. We get to see Marquez writing throughout his life and see his prose and themes evolve over time. Rife with the magical realism that he is known for as well as characters from other stories popping up from time to time this collection is a great display of his writing for both new and old readers of Marquez.
The theme of death was abound throughout the collection with my favorite being Someone has been Disarranging These Rose, about a ghost watching a women mourn his life for years while tending roses in his house. The Woman Who Came at Six O'clock was another strong one in the first book about a woman who got mixed up with a bad lover and wants the help of a barkeeper to take care of him.
Book 2 was in my opinion the weakest set but still had some good stories like Teusday Siesta about a mother having to bury her son who was mistakenly killed as a robber, as well as Big Mama's Funeral the story and history of a wealthy matriarch told at her funeral.
Book 3 was my favorite set of stories. Starting out strong with A very old man with enormous wings about an angel who washes up on shore and is then exploited by a poor family. Then The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World about a giant anonymous drowned man whom the towns people find and fall in love with and adopt as one of their own so he is not alone in death. Then ending with The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother, a story about love, exploitation, and family as a young girl is forced by her grandmother to repay her debts by selling herself only to fall in love with a young man but when that young man fulfills a promise she is driven to madness.
It was great to jump back into Marquez' writings.
A collection of 26 short stories pulled from other works of his and placed in chronological order. We get to see Marquez writing throughout his life and see his prose and themes evolve over time. Rife with the magical realism that he is known for as well as characters from other stories popping up from time to time this collection is a great display of his writing for both new and old readers of Marquez.
The theme of death was abound throughout the collection with my favorite being Someone has been Disarranging These Rose, about a ghost watching a women mourn his life for years while tending roses in his house. The Woman Who Came at Six O'clock was another strong one in the first book about a woman who got mixed up with a bad lover and wants the help of a barkeeper to take care of him.
Book 2 was in my opinion the weakest set but still had some good stories like Teusday Siesta about a mother having to bury her son who was mistakenly killed as a robber, as well as Big Mama's Funeral the story and history of a wealthy matriarch told at her funeral.
Book 3 was my favorite set of stories. Starting out strong with A very old man with enormous wings about an angel who washes up on shore and is then exploited by a poor family. Then The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World about a giant anonymous drowned man whom the towns people find and fall in love with and adopt as one of their own so he is not alone in death. Then ending with The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother, a story about love, exploitation, and family as a young girl is forced by her grandmother to repay her debts by selling herself only to fall in love with a young man but when that young man fulfills a promise she is driven to madness.
It was great to jump back into Marquez' writings.