The Tragic Tale of a Predicted Demise: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

D. O'Reilly: I've just read this for the second time because I think the first time I read it I was just swept along by the tale and struggled to comprehend what I'd just read. It's a relatively small 128 page novella, but somehow it seems sweeping in its scope. The writing, particularly about the gamut of characters that populate the pages, is colourful and lurid. The protagonist is going to die that day, most of the village seem to be aware of this but no one seems to be in a position to reverse his fate. The story doesn't contain a lot of the magical elements that infuse a lot of GGM's longer novels, this seems largely real world, but the premise of the story and its eventual denouement feel very other worldly. The ending is truly visceral, it made the hairs stand up on my arms. What an incredible writer.

United Kingdom on Nov 30, 2023

Belkis: Muy útil para mi hijo

United States on Nov 29, 2023

Skyla3330: Prompt delivery! Loved that! I like dealing with this company, they never let me down . 😀

United States on Nov 07, 2023

Ayusman: What happens when everybody, including the victim, know about a contemplated crime beforehand, but are unable to prevent it? This novel brings out life's greatest absurdity - the fact that in life chance reigns supreme. The novel is humorous, but also very disturbing at times. Read it with lightening speed.

India on Oct 16, 2023

Smita: What a beautifully written classic piece... !! If you love reading, this is a must have. If you want to learn writing, this is where you learn from... A must..

India on Jul 27, 2023

PRADEEPKUMAR SPRADEEPKUMAR S: Worth the money, Paper n cover is nice,
Great novella

India on May 24, 2023

Khyati GautamKhyati Gautam: I have heard so much about Marquez’s books. He is known to weave his stories wrapped in magical realism. His writing style is one of those that enchant you completely. And to get all those heard words right, I picked up this one as my first Garcia’s read. No wonder he is a Noble Prize Winner in literature.

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold is a gripping story that portrays the shame of the society which believes in the virginity of a woman only if she can produce a crimson stain on the white sheet after her first night. This formed the plotline of this book. Angela is returned to her parents’ home after her husband Bayardo discovers that she is not a virgin. Her mother beats her up to get the name out of her mouth who deflowered her. She utters, “Santiago Nasar.” Hearing this, her twin brothers set on a fury mission to kill the young man. They announce their plan of killing Santiago to everyone in the town. Yet he could not be saved from succumbing to the children’s play of stabbing. To know why, read the book.

It is a fine piece of literature that develops its story slowly, taking its own sweet time. I liked how the author manages to keep the reader hooked...

India on Jun 15, 2019

GVC: Marquez’s novella is a chronicle of the last hours of Santiago Nasar as told in the first person by a friend. The events all take place in a small coastal village in Latin America. Angela Vicaro is married to Bayardo San Roman. The wedding and celebrations afterwards are lavish and expensive. After the wedding Angela’s husband is returned to her mother when he discovers she is not a virgin. Angela names Santiago as her lover after a beating by her mother. Angela’s two twin brothers Pedro and Pablo then set out to murder Santiago to recover her honour. The two brothers seem a little reluctant to carry out the murder and tell everybody they meet what they are going to do. Everybody in the village seems to know but no significant effort is made to stop the murder. Santiago ends up butchered like a pig. The narrator is part of the story. A journalist he appears to be putting the story together in a dispassionate journalist style but his emotions or involvement become part of the story.

Along the way as the murder plot is outlined Marquez captures the absurd aspects of everyday life in the town. Although this story is about a tragic and indelible day in the life of a small...

United States on Nov 27, 2016

Robert Crosman: GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ'S
CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD
A reading report by Robert Crosman

I remember this short novel appearing in Playboy when I was in graduate school in the `sixties, but I read no more than the opening paragraphs. Garcia-Marquez had recently won the Nobel Prize, but I hadn't yet read anything by him, and there was something antipathetic about the notion of a "death foretold." Not just the implicit violence, but above all the sense of fatality - that from the very title this revenge murder is declared inevitable. The message I got was that in Latin American culture there is a rigid cultural demand that one die for actions I would consider trivial. But for a while we remain ignorant of the reasons or motivations for Santiago's killing. While the story asserts in the first sentence that "they were going to kill him," it is reticent about why he deserves to die.

As he arises early and comes down to the kitchen to drink coffee, the condemned man, Santiago Nasar, is oblivious to the fate hanging over him. There the servant, Victoria Guzman, is busy slaughtering rabbits, and feeding their guts to dogs that howl for their portion of the spoils. The...

United States on May 07, 2014