Santiago Nasar is murdered.

Not a spoiler. We get that in the first couple of pages.

I found this book unputdownable. And seriously fascinating.


When I first started to read this, I thought it was going to be a variation on the death of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March. Didn't it feel like that? Complete with the advanced warning by way of a note pushed through the door which reminded me of both the Soothsayer who tried in vain to warn Caesar AND the reported good citizen who was there at the Senate and reportedly thrust a note into Caesar's hand with full details of the plot.

Alas, Caesar did not heed the warnings. In Nasar's case, there was barely ANY warning and that is what the book is about.

It's about a community who did little to stop a death foretold. Literally the whole town had warning that murderers wanted to kill Santiago. Everyone rationalizes away their small part in the tragedy and nearly everyone has guilt.

Guilt is one of the most bitter emotions and the town, decades after the event still bears the scars of guilt.

So you get the victim of the tragedy right at the beginning. You know who did it and it isn't long for the "why" to come out. What the story is focused on is the prevention aspect. Bad timing, horrible choices and some macabre coincidences all play a role in Santiago's fate. This story looks at both the after affects of the murder and the events leading up to it.

My feeling? The book is a bit of a masterpiece. In some reviews by people who did not like it, they point to the fact that the murder occurred over a woman's virginity. The murderers are set on avenging their sister who was returned by her new husband to her family when he found she was not a virgin.

Some people were indignant about that. But look at the time it was written in and took place in. I consider myself a feminist but accept that long ago things were quite different. (And if it is up to Republicans, we'd go back to that time) but moving along....

There are so many books written so long ago or period pieces that take place in a world we can't imagine and do not understand. I'd recommend this book to:

Fans of the classics who may have not gotten around to this one yet:

People who enjoy books which make them think.

Fans of suspenseful tales.

People who enjoy unusual stories.

I'd have given it a five but I reserve that rating for the best of the best. And this was quite gory BUT only toward the end where the murder is described.

Again -- none of this is a spoiler. Most of the details about the murder are reveled within the first chapter, the first few pages.

The prose was intense and easy to understand at the same time, there was not one dull moment and it was thought provoking as anything.

Mataram-me, menina Wene

A minha primeira experiência com Gabriel García Márquez foi, precisamente, com o "Cem Anos de Solidão". A cada livro ou mesmo frase que leio dele, posso apenas constatar que não estava preparada para ler essa obra-prima quando me aventurei nela. Não consegui gostar, não me apaixonei pelo surrealismo sul-americano que tanta beleza imprime às obras deste autor.
Na altura alguém, vendo-me com perfil de escritora no Goodreads, veio dizer-me, em privado, que só poderia escrever caca se tinha atribuído 1 estrela à obra-prima do Gabo. Na altura evoquei o evidente: não me identifiquei, não gostei. Uma classificação a uma obra artística é sempre mais um manifesto de percepção do que algo de aproximado a uma verdade absoluta. Não há verdades absolutas quanto à arte, mas há verdades incontornáveis. E é incontornável que o Nobel colombiano é um contador de histórias exímio.
Há um grande debate aí pelas redes sociais, a propósito da qualidade das obras/gosto pessoal dos leitores. Eu digo isto: se se quer avaliar a alma de um livro, a sua qualidade humanística, olhe-se aos leitores. Quem leu? Quem gostou? E daí retirem as vossas conclusões. Já que usei a palavra caca acima, vou chamá-la de novo: escreve-se muita caca hoje em dia. Há um culto do "escrever": as palavras caras, os floreados, o cliché, a piada fácil, a tentativa de criar um tcharan no encerrar da ideia que, na maioria das vezes, me suscita um "?" e um enrugar de testa. Mas que raio...?
Onde anda o conteúdo? Onde andam os contadores de histórias? Eu digo-vos, a meu ver, onde é que eles andam:
À escuta. Atrás das portas, nas esquinas, nos becos. É o tipo de cigarro nas beiças a duas mesas da vossa, ao pequeno-almoço. É o que finge ler o jornal enquanto vocês conversam com a vizinha na paragem de autocarro. É o que olha pela janela do metro enquanto vocês falam ao telefone. É o miúdo que se põe hirto enquanto vocês discutem, em casa e de janelas abertas, confiantes que ninguém vos ouve. E que depois guarda isso para si, ou corre em busca de uma caneta e do verso de um talão para apontá-lo. É quem saca da máquina fotográfica ou do gravador, ou que digita as vossas palavras à velocidade que as verbalizam, para não perder pitada da vossa alma falada. Daquilo que vos sai com naturalidade.
E Gabriel García Márquez é um observador nato. Os diálogos são incólumes, sãos, palpáveis. Chegam-nos por entre sopros do hálito das personagens, dos seus lábios gretados, dos seus dentes lascados, das suas sinusites e dos seus catarros. O homem é um extractor de almas, e quem o é só precisa de meia dúzia de páginas para contar uma história antes de cair na repetição.
Crónica de uma Morte Anunciada tem 107 páginas na versão em que a li, e é de uma riqueza literária inegável (uma verdade incontornável).
Santiago Nasar está condenado, todos os sabem. Mas aí entram as motivações humanas, as suas fraquezas, as suas crenças pessoais "ah, eles vão lá agora matar o rapaz". "Mas alguma vez?", e joga o seu vasto conhecimento da essência de um povo que é seu e de um passado de que também comunga. A força da tradição, que nos fortalece em certas situações e nos amordaça noutras, o assassino que não quer matar mas que o deve à honra, o povo que entende as razões e, ainda assim, leva flores ao morto.
Estou deserta (vim agora do Algarve) de continuar a lê-lo. "O Amor nos Tempos de Cólera" e agora esta maravilhosa crónica puseram-me alerta para aquilo que tenho andado a perder. Espero que se deixem prender com tanta intensidade quanto eu.
Um 5***** no absoluto matemático deste número infinito.

" لقـد قتلـوا سنتياغو نصـار ! "
إنهـا حقـًا قصـة موت معلـن .. وربمـا تكـون الوحيـدة !
جريمـة قتـل علـم الجميـع أنهـا ستحـدث .. القاتـل والمقتـول وأهالـى البلـدة والشرطـة والعمـدة وراهـب الكنيسـة ومـع ذلك حدثـت !

لعـل ما يميـز ماركيـز هو قـدرته الهائلـة على خلـق عدد كبيـر من الشخصيـات ، لكـل منهـم عالمـه وصفاتـه وخصائصـه التى تميـزه عـن غيـره ونسـج كــل هـذا فى بنـاء مُحكـم من الأحـداث المشوقـة..

الغـريب أنك ستشعـر أنه يفعـل كـل هـذا دون مجهـود منـه ! توغلـه وترسخـه ومعرفتـه الكاملـة بالمجتمـع الكولومبـى يعطيانـه مَلكَـة هائلـة ومقـدرة غيـر طبيعيـة على الابـداع.. وهـو نفـس ما يميـّز العملاق المصـرى نجيب محفـوظ الذى كـان خبيـرًا لا يشق له غبـار بالمجتمع المصـرى ولطالمـا كتب عنـه وخلده فى رواياتـه ..

بمعنى آخـر ، يمكننـى أن أقـول أن نجيب محفـوظ هو ماركيزنـا .. أو ماركيـز هو نجيبهـم !

الجـديـد هنـا أن الروايـة تُروى بطريقـة ال Vantage Point ... فالحكايـة نفسهـا تُروى أكثـر من مـرة بمنظـور يختلـف من شخصيـة لأخـرى.. ربمـا إذا شاهـدت الفيلم الذى يحمل نفس اسم الطريقـة ستعـرف عمـا أتحـدث.

So wading my way through my 10-book Gabriel García Márquez collection and having read 4 and given them each 2 stars or less - this is where perseverance finally gets of its ass and rewards me, as undeterred, I read this and lo and behold, I really enjoyed it!

Why? One word - storytelling! This is just a wonderfully immersive and captivating story, of a death foretold! Now my Gabriel García Márquez curse is broken I hope the dam is bust and that my mind now 'gets' his work. A well deserved 8.5 out of 12.

2007 read

Esta es la historia de Santiago Nasar, o el pueblo que sabía de su muerte inminente e injusta, pero no hizo nada al respecto. Es un gran examen de la culpa colectiva que captura la personalidad de un lugar que parece fascinante, al tiempo que ofrece una historia que se mueve sin problemas de la comedia negra al gore, al romance y viceversa, como si nos abriesen una pequeña ventana a una trágica cadena de eventos. Me divertí mucho leyéndola, y entiendo de dónde vienen los elogios.

A menudo he oído hablar de este libro en términos de cómo Márquez trabaja con el tiempo, y es cierto que es ingenioso. Son increíbles, las distorsiones y vacilaciones y el retroceso y avance rápido que maneja desde la completa calma mientras se superpone a todos estos momentos. Esto es algo que todavía me deja asombrada. Pero lo que realmente me atrapó esta vez fue cuán presente estaba el narrador. Es genial, cómo recopila información desde todos los ángulos, de su familia y conocidos. La gran cantidad de personajes, la forma en que sus recuerdos chocan para que la ciudad misma parezca una persona.

Gabriel García Márquez ha escrito líricamente una crónica la cual he amado por muchas razones y por todos los temas que trata, como la hipocresía humana, la violencia, la negación, la ferocidad de los hombres y la injusticia que en conjunto conduce a la culpa o la indiferencia. Habiendo escrito por uno de mis autores favoritos, esta crónica lírica sigue siendo una de mis favoritas y la recomiendo encarecidamente.

Madre mía!
Lo primero que pensé al terminarlo fue "que injusticia"
Creo y afirmó que el culpable fue el pueblo entero por no prevenirlo a tiempo y por no parar a los hermanos.
El libro comienza ya anunciándote que a Santiago Nasar ese lunes lo van a matar! Y por medio de un narrador sin nombre vamos a ir descubriendo cual fue el motivo del crimen y porque nadie hizo nada.
Me gustó muchísimo! La narración y la noticia de esta muerte ya anunciada están muy bien construidas!
Voy a seguir leyendo a García Márquez, un final excelente que me revolvió el estomago.

Stabbing a man to death is not as easy as it sounds; after all, it took 23 swipes at poor old Julius Caesar, but only one of them was actually deemed fatal. It takes a hell of an effort.
Not like that seen in those pathetic slasher movies, where a big breasted peroxide blonde is chased around a mansion by a nutcase bearing a huge blade that only dishes out flesh wounds.

Chronicling the murder of one Santiago Nasar in a small unnamed South American village, Márquez dazzles in a fictional world that is as pungently sharp as the knives used to kill, it's a murder everyone in town knew was coming, yet no one wanted. ''Never was a death more foretold.'' says the the novels narrator, recounting the events of that fateful day, in fact, it's many years later where the story is told from, using the recollections of various townsfolk, a picture is slowly built up of just "who" and "why" this horrendous act took place. The purpose is less to do with trying solve any mystery, as the deed was committed in broad daylight, by two brothers, who understood their sister had been dishonored by Nasar, it's more based on the determination to try and understand why no one was able to prevent the death from happening. Spare in tone and somewhat bizarre it's a clever piece of writing that explores the nature of complicity and fate, and of how an act of savage intent can effect so many lives over time.

Márquez utilizes mysticism and spirituality in his writing that represents culture, and symbolizes meaning within the context of the work. The death of Santiago may not have been avoided, partially due to the strange inabilities of his characters to connect with their spiritual powers. Both Santiago’s mother and his god-mother are unable to ‘truly feel his demise’. Mostly random thoughts and actions of several different people contribute to altering the course of that murderous day, with the fate of Santiago totally left in the hands of others.
Although a quick read, what I admired the most was the fact it's a deeper story than you think, it's not just the death of one, but the suffering of many, those who are burdened with failed responsibilities, the knives may have been in the hands of the killers, but seemingly the whole village also has a tight grip around them, this makes the story all the more powerful and ultimately
sad in the end, leaving an open wound on the people, unlikely ever to heal.

I read this short masterpiece ages ago, but it only recently resurfaced in my mind, like a forgotten dream. It's a tense drama of murder foretold, written in the magical realism style for which Columbian novelist, Marquez, was lionised.
I really need to read it again to reacquaint myself with its succulent excellence.
(Ditto, Don Quixote, and so many other exquisitely-written novels that are now consigned to the backroom of my cluttered mind).

Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez who is best known for his One Hundred Years of Solitude penned a novella A Chronicle of Death Foretold based on real life events that he witnessed. In this novella, Marquez tells through the eyes of an unnamed narrator the events that lead to the murder of Santiago Nasar. It is in the characterizations of the personas this short book that we get a taste of Marquez' brilliance which won him many honors during his writing career.

Santiago Nasar is the only child of Ibrahim Nasar and Placida Nacido. He is engaged to be married to Flor Miguel, but as his father before him, has engaged in trysts with his housekeeper's daughter. Likewise he has frequented a whorehouse and has an intimate relationship with its matron.

Meanwhile Bayardo San Ramon and Angela Vicario are to be married. Angela is not a virgin and San Ramon kicks her out of their marriage chamber. She is dishonored by her mother, and her twin brothers Pablo and Pedro are determined to kill the man responsible for their sister's reckless behavior. All signs point to Santiago Nasar.

The narrator tells this tale when all principal players have reached middle age. A boyhood friend of Nasar and a cousin of the Vicarios, he is determined to find out if Nasar was really guilty. Angela has paid the price, living like an old maid, yet still professing her love to Bayardo San Ramon after all these years. Yet despite the narrator's attempts to piece all the evidence together, Angela will not reveal the key clue, leaving the reader hanging throughout this short tale.

Even in this short tale, it is obvious to me that Garcia Marquez knows how to weave a story together. I am fan of Isabel Allende and people tell me that her writing reminds them of Garcia Marquez. As this is my first taste of his writing, I can sense the similarities- many characters in a Latin American village, the opening sentences containing flashbacks, and a high level of magical realism. I rate this novella 4 stars for its short length as I look forward to reading Garcia Marquez' opus which earned him international renown.

Frumos!

4 ⭐️

**English Below – Some possible spoilers but not much you won’t find on the GR book page**


Yo leyendo esta novela en español es un ejemplo clásico de un tontito que intenta correr antes de caminar! Me ha costado mucho a terminarlo y como resultado del vocabulario avanzado fue un proceso lentísimo! Pero bueno, mi primera lectura de Marquez, hecho! ✅

Es una maravillosa novela corta sobre las tradiciones anticuadas, la reciprocidad del amor y el odio, y la irresistibilidad del destino, que sucede en un pueblito colombiano de la época 1950s.

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Me Reading this novella in Spanish is a classic example of an idiot trying to run before they can walk! It took some effort to work through and as a result of the tricky vocabulary was a very slow process but, hey! My first Marquez done and dusted!

It’s a wonderful novella regarding antiquated traditions, the reciprocity of love and hate, and the irresistibility of fate and it all takes place in a small Colombian town in the 1950s.

Santiago Nasar was murdered 27 years ago by the V(S)icario brothers. A violent but, many of the townspeople would suggest, necessary act in restoring their sister Angela’s honour; tarnished after Bayardo San Roman returned her to her parent’s doorstep on the night of their wedding having discovered that she was (GASP!!) NOT a virgin!

Our narrator has returned to his home town in an attempt to produce an accurate account of what occurred by rebuilding the broken mirror of memory with the many scattered splinters that are the unreliable testimonies of the townspeople. In utilising a town full of unreliable narrators, Marquez highlights the fallibility and inaccuracy of human memory, selective or otherwise, and the role this can play in the retelling of histories long past (or even relatively recent).

Almost the entire town had been made aware that the Vicario brothers were planning to kill Santiago Nasar (thanks largely to the brothers themselves practically screaming out for someone to stop them from doing so), however, by way of disbelief, negligence, convenience, pure malice, or plain bad luck, no one was able to prevent it.

So, are the Vicarios solely to blame? Are the townspeople culpable? Did Santiago get what was coming to him? Well, maybe, possibly, probably BUT I felt there were far too many coincidences, universal negligence, and rotten luck to place the blame on one individual or group. While I’m almost certain Marquez’s intention was to put the spotlight on the morality of the town as a collective, their presumed shared responsibility and the weight and consequence of the mindless defence of honour, I actually felt more like the reader was ushered to the conclusion that something or someone far more powerful than ourselves is pulling the strings so when the fates have assigned you a date or when death’s scythe scratches at your door, whichever way you want to look at it, your number’s up, them’s the brakes!

A short but thought-provoking and gorgeously written novella; dreamy and atmospheric, as if viewing the memories of the townspeople through a crystal ball or reflected off the surface of a lake. Clear enough, but distorted somewhat by the convexed or rippling lense through which they are shared. I’ll be back for more Marquez.

There had never been a death so foretold.

Márquez's oeuvre may be roughly divided into two streams of writing: the magician of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera and the journalist-adventurer of this novel and News of a Kidnapping. The ominous world of magic realism closes shop when Marquez switches his gears to journalistic storytelling. But may be not quite; because right from the opening scene an eerie premonition trails at the heels of Santiago Nasar and, do what he might, catches him unawares to punish him for a crime he might or might not have committed. In this novella the writer-narrator sets himself up to the task of investigating the events that led to the death so foretold.

You may call it a reportage of an impossible and inexplicable murder that could have been prevented with just a shout. You may call it story of a man who must pay for violating the unwritten code of honour when he is suspected of deflowering Angela Vicario, his best pal's sister, hours before she was to get married to another man. Or you may simply call it a story of an honour killing, but unlike other stories of this kind this is not yet another banal attempt aimed at soliciting public's disgust at the horrific practice, told from the moral high ground of an observer's point of view. It does not portray the entire value system backward and barbaric which stories of this kind are wont to do, but operates from inside the culture to report on the dynamics that lead to and make something like this possible. This objectivity sits at the heart of good writing and this sets Márquez apart from a bevy of writers who have produced stereotypical fictional accounts of a culture at war with itself.

I won't call it "unreliable narration" but rather a deliberate building up of ambiguity with respect to the victim's role: Was Santiago Nasar guilty of dishonouring Angela Vicario, or was there a big misunderstanding all along, made all the more complicated by a surfeit of circumstantial evidence? Here you have Márquez, the master investigative journalist, with the best implements of his trade, testing your powers of observation and turning you into a witness who is being strung along willy-nilly by a powerful voice. It's one of those novels where the process of telling a story is greater than the story itself. In other words, how it's told rather than what's told.

By the honour of Angela Vicario this is a story unequaled in its telling!