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A review by smuds2
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
UNFINISHED
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
I listened to this as an audiobook while driving, and would like to re-read it in physical form eventually.
With that being said, I think Marquez is a much stronger novella writer than novel writer. Don't get me wrong I loved 100YoS, and General and Labyrinth was good too. But man - this story just MOVES and the magical realism-folk fantasy elements of this story just clip by like, fast enough for you to question like "is this a story that actually took place, or a someone reading me a fantasy story". Compared GaL, which feels a bit more plodding.
There were a couple of themes I noticed, that on re-read I'd like to keep track of.
First, obviously, is the "finger pointing" issue. Priest saying it's a civil issue, the cop not really taking the issue seriously. It seems like Marquez might be saying that us alive today don't really have anyone to watch our back. We can't trust religion, we can't trust the state, and increasingly can't trust our neighbors.
The apperance vs reality of virginity, social virtue, etc. Everyone knows it's a dog show being a virgin before you're married, and yet, everyone still has to live by these archaic rules as if it's not. This seems connected to the idea that the twins were "good guys" when they were demonstrably not good guys. It's like - why are we putting up these pretenses? Why don't we believe each other when we speak?
The narrative element of him "combing the records of a lettered man" or whatever, i think, solidifies the idea that this is all a fiction story that we are audience to. It's like there is no attempt to pull us in and convince us this is a real tale. It's purely told as legend.
The "he's already dead" recurring theme was interesting, I think could be tied into this as a stage play, as in Santiago played the "dead character". In addition, I think it served to kind of muddy the waters. It was already non-linear in it's telling. But in addition to that non-linearity, a single instance of time becomes non-linear.
I'm not sure if I was super compelled by the actual fact of whether or not santiago did the thing that led to his death. The "mystery" of it seemed.... not interesting to me. I don't really think it changes much the reading of other character actions. Maybe that's just because i am so removed from a world where this type of killing would be justified? Like, dude was senselessy killed regardless of whether or not he and angela were together at any point.
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
With that being said, I think Marquez is a much stronger novella writer than novel writer. Don't get me wrong I loved 100YoS, and General and Labyrinth was good too. But man - this story just MOVES and the magical realism-folk fantasy elements of this story just clip by like, fast enough for you to question like "is this a story that actually took place, or a someone reading me a fantasy story". Compared GaL, which feels a bit more plodding.
There were a couple of themes I noticed, that on re-read I'd like to keep track of.
First, obviously, is the "finger pointing" issue. Priest saying it's a civil issue, the cop not really taking the issue seriously. It seems like Marquez might be saying that us alive today don't really have anyone to watch our back. We can't trust religion, we can't trust the state, and increasingly can't trust our neighbors.
The apperance vs reality of virginity, social virtue, etc. Everyone knows it's a dog show being a virgin before you're married, and yet, everyone still has to live by these archaic rules as if it's not. This seems connected to the idea that the twins were "good guys" when they were demonstrably not good guys. It's like - why are we putting up these pretenses? Why don't we believe each other when we speak?
The narrative element of him "combing the records of a lettered man" or whatever, i think, solidifies the idea that this is all a fiction story that we are audience to. It's like there is no attempt to pull us in and convince us this is a real tale. It's purely told as legend.
The "he's already dead" recurring theme was interesting, I think could be tied into this as a stage play, as in Santiago played the "dead character". In addition, I think it served to kind of muddy the waters. It was already non-linear in it's telling. But in addition to that non-linearity, a single instance of time becomes non-linear.
I'm not sure if I was super compelled by the actual fact of whether or not santiago did the thing that led to his death. The "mystery" of it seemed.... not interesting to me. I don't really think it changes much the reading of other character actions. Maybe that's just because i am so removed from a world where this type of killing would be justified? Like, dude was senselessy killed regardless of whether or not he and angela were together at any point.