Chronicle of a Death Foretold Author:Gabriel Garcia Marquez "EXQUISITELY HARROWING . . . . Very strange and brilliantly conceived. . . . A sort of metaphysical murder mystery. . . . The murder will stand among the innumerable murders of modern literature as one of the best and most powerfully rendered." — A mysterious and haunting tale of romance and murder, that begins with the marriage of a man and a wo... more »man in love. But when he inexplicably mistreats his beloved on the night of the wedding, he is in turn murdered by her brothers, and we are left with a strange sense of inevitability and passions gone terribly awry.« less
I recently enjoyed rereading this old favorite, in a new-to-me translation. It is a remarkable story -- simple, short, and yet one you can't forget, and can't completely figure out.
Everyone in town knows that the Vacario brothers are going to kill Santiago; in fact, they even announce it publically. So why do the entire town, his fiancé, and household members allow it to happen? The tale is pieced together by an acquaintance years later. This is a short but bittersweet novella with an unusual theme; easy to read except that there is much repetition. If it weren't so short, I would have thought that i were reading Zola.
I had trouble following 1st person story telling. Hard to believe gruesome details, but friend from Central America said could be factual. Graphic imagery and language.
I had to read this for a first-term English class. Though I didn't like it, I see why many people do. Marquez's narrative style in this story is quite unique, and I appreciated the idea of having everyone else tell a story without that omniscient narrator or a first-person narrative to explain exactly what happened to Santiago Nasar.