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A review by nadiamasood
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Chronicle of a Death Foretold takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through a small fictional Colombian town where honor, love, and absurdity collide in a way that can only be described as delightful chaos.
The story begins with the impending doom of Santiago Nasar, a man whose fate is as certain as the town's inability to organize a decent wedding. The narrative unfolds with the precision of a Greek tragedy, but this is no ordinary tale of gloom and despair.
What's most interesting is that our narrator's purpose isn't to solve the crime. Instead, he is determined to understand why no one was able to prevent it.
Everyone in town knows that Santiago Nasar was to be murdered. The deed was done in broad daylight, in the town square, by the Vicario brothers who believed their sister had been dishonored by Nasar. People knew about the murder beforehand yet no attempts were made to intervene. And the Vicario brothers willingly surrendered afterward. "Never," says the novel's narrator, "was a death more foretold."
There are so many characters in this book due to the fact that the entire coastal town of this small South American village where the murder took place was an active participant. And what a bunch of interesting characters indeed!
Also, emphasis is given to the importance of honor in 1950's Columbia.
The story begins with the impending doom of Santiago Nasar, a man whose fate is as certain as the town's inability to organize a decent wedding. The narrative unfolds with the precision of a Greek tragedy, but this is no ordinary tale of gloom and despair.
What's most interesting is that our narrator's purpose isn't to solve the crime. Instead, he is determined to understand why no one was able to prevent it.
Everyone in town knows that Santiago Nasar was to be murdered. The deed was done in broad daylight, in the town square, by the Vicario brothers who believed their sister had been dishonored by Nasar. People knew about the murder beforehand yet no attempts were made to intervene. And the Vicario brothers willingly surrendered afterward. "Never," says the novel's narrator, "was a death more foretold."
There are so many characters in this book due to the fact that the entire coastal town of this small South American village where the murder took place was an active participant. And what a bunch of interesting characters indeed!
Also, emphasis is given to the importance of honor in 1950's Columbia.
"The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married...my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. 'They're perfect,' she was frequently heard to say. 'Any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer.'"
The bunch of incompetent people performing Nasar's autopsy (described more like a massacre) was hilarious. There's the priest who had studied medicine and surgery but entered the seminary before he graduated, the druggist who took notes, and a first-year medical student who was in town for vacation. There were only a few minor surgery instruments at hand, so they made do with craftsmen's tools.
The autopsy report also included the following observations:
"...and in the midst of the morass of gastric contents appeared a medal of gold that Santiago Nasar had swallowed at the age of four...the deep stab made it look like a stigma of the crucified Christ...the encephalic mass weighted 60 grams more than that of a normal Englishman noting that Santiago Nasar had a superior intelligence and a brilliant future."
I loved every moment of this book! Gabriel Marquez brilliantly takes the readers through an intricate labyrinth of surprises. The non-linear narrative keeps you guessing, leaving you to ponder whether the death in question is just an elaborate metaphor for the demise of common sense in this peculiar town.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence