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rpg74 's review for:
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
by Gabriel García Márquez
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you are looking for a book that exemplifies the magical realism that El Gabo is known for, this is not your book. If you want to discover the mastery of his writing as a journalist, start here.
El Gabo tells a story here that highlights the societal norms of the time and draws vividly the characters that inhabit this society. All of this in a straightforward, factual, telling, as if reporting a story in a newspaper yet revealing in this manner not just a story of a man’s death, but the absurdity and tragedy that led up to it. The avenging brother’s anger and despair for what they are tasked with is written as factually as the description of the weather on the day Santiago was marked for death. I accept this as a reader, as true and normal, and feel as the reader, the weight of what is to come. When I read this story I think of Tolstoy. The writer tells his story in a detailed, factual way, drawing out visions of what he lays before you. The reader is drawn in and the voice of the narrator and that of the individual characters blend into one; drawing out tension, truth and when contrasting with action, tragedy in the choices made. I have read that Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a fan of Russian literature, Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis inspired him to write his greatest novel. For me, it is in the melding of these subtle techniques of Russian writers and his natural storytelling ability as a journalist that made him one of the greatest storytellers to have lived.
El Gabo tells a story here that highlights the societal norms of the time and draws vividly the characters that inhabit this society. All of this in a straightforward, factual, telling, as if reporting a story in a newspaper yet revealing in this manner not just a story of a man’s death, but the absurdity and tragedy that led up to it. The avenging brother’s anger and despair for what they are tasked with is written as factually as the description of the weather on the day Santiago was marked for death. I accept this as a reader, as true and normal, and feel as the reader, the weight of what is to come. When I read this story I think of Tolstoy. The writer tells his story in a detailed, factual way, drawing out visions of what he lays before you. The reader is drawn in and the voice of the narrator and that of the individual characters blend into one; drawing out tension, truth and when contrasting with action, tragedy in the choices made. I have read that Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a fan of Russian literature, Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis inspired him to write his greatest novel. For me, it is in the melding of these subtle techniques of Russian writers and his natural storytelling ability as a journalist that made him one of the greatest storytellers to have lived.