Tutti abbiamo almeno un libro che sentiamo di aver giudicato male, magari perchè lo abbiamo letto nel momento sbagliato, magari perchè non gli abbiamo dedicato la giusta attenzione, così promattiamo a noi stessi che un giorno gli daremo una seconda possibilità e lo rileggeremo.

Il libro che io voglio assolutamente rileggere è Cent'anni di solitudine, mi era anche piaciuto abbastanza, ma so che quando lo lessi, anni fa, non gli dedicai la giusta attenzione e forse non ero nemmeno una lettrice abbastanza matura per poterlo apprezzare appieno.

Comunque, anche se Cent'anni di solitudine aspetta ancora una mia rilettura, ho finalmente letto qualcos'altro di Gabriel García Márquez: Cronaca di una morte annunciata.

Il titolo riassume perfettamente la trama del libro che, non solo è molto semplice, ma che il lettore scopre fin dalle prime pagine: durante la prima notte di nozze il neo-marito scopre che Angela Vicario non è vergine. La ragazza accusa Santiago Nasar e i fratelli della giovane decidono di ristabilire l'onore uccidendo Santiago.
Niente di particolarmente originale o complesso. Quello che fa la differenza è il modo in cui è raccontato.

La narrazione ha la forma di una cronaca e il narratore ricostruisce, anni dopo, minuto per minuto gli eventi della fatidica mattinata con punti di vista multipli, grazie ai ricordi degli abitanti del paese.
Tutti, o quasi, sanno che i fratelli Vicario uccideranno Santiago ma nessuno fa nulla per impedire il delitto. Santiago verrà ucciso per un "crimine" che forse, anzi probabilmente, non ha commesso, anche a causa di una serie di straordinarie coincidenze.

E soprattutto, Marquez scrive benissimo. Ha la naturalezza che uno scrittore secondo me deve avere per essere davvero un grande scrittore. Sembrano parole scritte di getto, senza troppa attenzione, e invece è la miglior combinazione possibile di parole per dire quella cosa.

Il libro è breve ma intenso, e non è solo un modo di dire.
Difficilmente una lettura così veloce mi colpisce così tanto.
Un'ottima lettura.

I own about 70 copies of illegally-photocopied versions of this book so I can use it with my students in class. And unlike most books I teach, I read this one every year.

Why? 'Cuz it's an unbelievable text.

I firmly believe that Santiago Nasar is one of literature's greatest Christ-figures. Many of Garcia's books have Christ-figures, of course, but Santiago is Jesus with a twist. When the book starts, Santiago is portrayed as a bad man who is wasteful and immoral and violent. When he is fingered for taking the virginity of a non-whore, any reader would believe in his guilt.

But by the end of the book, it is obvious that Santiago did not commit the crime (Garcia hides the line where this is stated unequivocally, but it is there). But he is killed nonetheless (multiple times, actually) and the entire town, who did not stop the attack on Santiago, feels guilty for their inaction for the next twenty years.

It's such a brilliant idea that is told so exquisitely, that I can't think of a better sub-100 page book to read over a two day period. And my students can't, either, as I have never had a disappointed student. Ever.

Even if I already knew the ending, I couldn't help but breathlessly hope that someone would be allowed by providence to save Santiago Nasar - such an exquisite narrator is Márquez.

Having read 'Love in the time of Cholera' and 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by the same author, I found this one quite dull. Magical realism, which is at the core of GG's works, was evident in this novel as well, but combining it with a murder mystery (but you realize later that it is not actually a mystery) made it a tad uninteresting for me.
First of all, the non - linear fashion in which the book is written actually contradicts with the title. Many key events are obscured and the narrator has not chronologically revealed the order of the events.
Secondly, the themes of memory, symbolism and reality seem jumbled to me.
Thirdly, there is a lot of repetition of events surrounding the crime. Yes, repetition is a key component of GG's magical realism but it did not seem to be hitting the mark in this book. All in all, I'd say that the book was a repetitive and purely investigative work with no further findings or outcomes. In this manner, the narrator also seems very enigmatic, but with inconclusive results.

The book includes the theme of a woman being on the periphery. The very fact that death was considered a reasonable payback / retribution for the crime of taking a girl's virginity manifests how abominable it was to sleep with an unmarried woman.
This also ruined her chances of marrying well (if at all), and marriage was seen as women's one way to progress in the world, instead of being seen as an alliance that would prosper the growth for both.

Coming to the theme of 'mystery' yet again, I reckon that the real mystery is 'why' (and 'how' as well, but the 'how' is countered as this is a Magical Realism work ) the entire town allowed the murder to happen; with, at best, only lackluster efforts to stop it or even alert the victim.

However, I found a few interesting and thought–provoking quotes from the book:

1. A falcon who chases a warlike crane can only hope for a life of pain.
2. The hunt for love is haughty falconry.

Coming to the rating, for now I will round off my 2.35 stars to 2. May be, if I come and read this one later, I can think of revising the rating.

تبدأ الرواية ببساطة فادحة.
فالموت معلن، وحتمي، ولكن أحدا لا يفعل شيئا لكي يوقفه.
الرواية تفضح بشكل رائع البساطة المخيفة التي يتم بها القتل في هذا العالم.

أوصي بهذه الرواية دائماً كمدخل لعوالم ماركيز، قراءة (مئة عام من العزلة) قد تبدو مرهقة ل��بعض بكل واقعيتها السحرية وبكل شخصياتها وتداخل الأسماء فيها، هذه الروية أكثر واقعية، تروي قصة حقيقية عن جريمة معلنة كان الجميع يعلم بوقوعها ولكن لا أحد تدخل لإيقافها، هذه قصتنا كبشر في النهاية، نتابع الأحداث من حولنا ونفهم تداعياتها وإلى أين ستقودنا ولكننا لا نفعل شيئاً حتى يفوت الأوان، فكروا فقط بالـ حروب/ العنصرية/ الطائفية/ الأوضاع الاقتصادية/ الجريمة

Truth in the title: the title tells us exactly the plot of the novel.

A man is stabbed to death. He’s a fairly wealthy young man (he’s 21) who runs a cattle ranch inherited from his father. There’s an interesting ethnic twist: His father’s family speaks Arabic at home and his family's housekeeper on occasion calls him “white man.” Although the locals call his family ‘Turks,’ because they are Catholic, it’s likely they were Lebanese and arrived in Colombia (where the story is set) from the great mixing and melting pot of the Caribbean.



The title tells us all we need to know and very early on in the story we know why he was killed, so I’m not giving away any plot. Another wealthy man in town has just had the most extravagant wedding ever seen in the town. But the next morning the bridegroom ‘returns the bride’ to her family because she has been deflowered by the young man who will then be killed by her two brothers.

The day of the murder the brothers make no secret of their intentions. They wander around town telling people what they intend to do. By mid-morning just about everyone in town has heard them say they will kill him.

So why is nothing done? Everyone has an excuse. There’s a big commotion in town because the bishop is coming by riverboat to wave at folks and give the town a blessing. So even the priest thinks ‘this is a criminal matter that doesn’t concern me.' Most folks assume it’s just ‘drunk talk.' The mayor has the police chief take away their hog butchering knives when they are seen sharpening them. (But they have plenty of knives.) Also it’s assumed they are talking to so many folks that someone will stop them --- and maybe they want to be stopped.



The story is told retrospectively from almost 30 years later. A fascinating read that under the author’s masterful writing, makes the entire story perfectly plausible. “We killed him openly,” Pedro Vicario said, "but we’re innocent.”

A good read.

Small town in Colombia from arrangedtravelers.com
Photo of the author from npr.com

قدرٌ احمق الخطى...

- اعتقد ان ماركيز ارهقته هذه القصة فأراد التخلّص من هذا الأرق والوجع الذي يعتريه فقام بكتابة القصة ومشاركتها مع الجميع ليوّزع الألم ويخفف عن نفسه! وبذلك تكون الكتابة ليست لتخليد الشخصية المروي عنها بل للتخلص من الجراحات ومحاولة تقطيبها وطيّها من صفحات الذاكرة الشخصية بنقلها الى الذاكرة الجمعية للإنسانية جمعاء!

- القصة ليست قصّة تشويق او فيلم بوليسي، فماركيز من العنوان والصفحات الأولى يخبرك بالزبدة: قتل سانتياغو نصّار! لكنه لاحقاً يبدأ بنبش تفاصيل التفاصيل ويعرضها ويتساءل بشأنها وكيفية حصولها وتباطئ ردة الفعل والتمييع حتى "وقعت الفاس بالراس"! قد يصيب القارئ بعض الملل لكنه ملل التفاصيل الدقيقة التي يحتاج الكاتب اليها ليرسم المشهد الكبير ويريك اللافعل المفقود!

- "قصة موت معلن" كانت عن شخص تباطئ الناس في تحذيره وتباطئ هو نفسه بالحذر، قصة بين عدم تصديق ما يسمع وما يقوله لنفسه، قد تكون غريبة لكننا نشهدها اليوم وبشكل موسّع على دول بكاملها!!

"أعطني حكماً مسبقاً، أحرّك لك العالم."

Crónica de una muerte anunciada = Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1981. It tells, in the form of a pseudo-journalistic reconstruction, the story of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the two Vicario brothers.

Characters: Santiago Nasar, Ángela Vicario, Bayardo San Román, Pablo and Pedro Vicario

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز اول ماه می سال 1994میلادی

عنوان: گزارش یک مرگ، نویسنده: گابریل گارسیا مارکز؛ مترجم: لیلی گلستان؛ تهران، نشر البرز، چاپ دوم 1362، در 119ص، شابک9646952643؛ چاپ سوم 1369؛ چاپ چهارم 1370؛ چاپ پنجم 1373؛ چاپ دیگر نشر نو؛ 1361؛ در هشت و119ص؛ چاپ دیگر نشر ماهی، 1388، در133ص؛ شابک 9789649971902؛ چاپ دوم 1389؛ چاپ سوم 1390؛ چاپ چهارم و پنجم 1392؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان کلمبیا - سده 20م

روابط سنتی اهالی امریکای لاتین، «مارکز» روزنامه نگار بازهم داستان میسراید؛ یک برداشت است از یک رخداد یا جنایت، شخصیتها و نوع رخداد را تغییر داده، و روایت کرده، نوع روایت بسیار عجیب است؛ هم پیچیده و هم ساده است

چکیده داستان: در یک روستای کوچک در نزدیکی دریای «کاراییب» و در یک منطقه ی دور افتاده در «کلمبیا»، «بایاردو سان رومان» ثروتمند و تازه ‌وارد، با «آنخِلا بیکاریو» ازدواج می‌کند، و پس‌از جشن، تازه عروس و داماد، به خانه ی خویش می‌روند؛ در شب زفاف «بایارد» متوجه می‌شود که نو عروس او باکره نبوده، پس از آنکه داماد از این موضوع آگاه می‌شود، به همراه همسرش به خانه ی پدری او می‌روند، و جریان را به آگاهی آن‌ها می‌رساند؛ «آنخلا»، گناهکار را، جوانی به نام «سانتیاگو ناصر» معرفی می‌کند، که از همسایه‌ های خانواده «بیکاریو» در روستا است؛ برادرهای «آنخلا»، «پدرو» و «پابلو»، آماده ی دفاع از آبروی خانواده می‌شوند؛ آن‌ها به اهالی روستا اعلام می‌کنند (برای رهایی از این شرمندگی) به ‌طور یقین «سانتیاگو» را خواهند کشت؛ ولی در آن لحظه هیچکس اقدام کارآمدی برای جلوگیری از کشتن «سانتیاگو» انجام نمی‌دهد، چون بسیاری از روستاییان حرفهای برادران «بیکاریو» را جدی نگرفتند، وعده ‌ای هم خیال می‌کردند، که «سانتیاگو» در جریان موضوع هست، به هر حال دو برادر به سمت خانه ی «سانتیاگو» می‌روند، و او را در کنار در ورودی خانه ی خودش، با چاقو به قتل می‌رسانند، از آن فاجعه بیست و هفت سال می‌گذرد که بهترین دوست «سانتیاگو» که در جریان ماجرا بوده، به بازگویی آن رویداد می‌پردازد

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 12/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

n  n

I can't believe I had not written a review for this book. Since I'm constantly recommending it to people, I should have written a review at some point... but I didn't. Now is the time when I try to do it justice with this, as it is one of my fave books.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold... that's exactly what this book is about: A death foretold. You may be asking yourselves, wtf is that? Well, that was pretty much my reaction in 2013 when I read this for the first time.

Santiago Nasar is found dead. He has been stabbed multiple times by a pair of twins (Pablo and Pedro Vicario), but really, that's nothing unusually remarkable - happens every day. What about his death makes it so impressive? The fact that the twins told EVERYONE they were going to kill him.

Funny thing is NO ONE believed them, as they were supposedly the role model of the neighborhood - they would never do such a thing! That's just a joke! And btw, why would they even tell they're planning a murder? Yep, definitely a joke.

Turns out they were speaking seriously.

And that's why it is a chronicle of a death foretold.

The story is narrated through interviews to people who were related to Santiago in some way - be it directly or indirectly. It follows the events that led to the death: How it happened, why they did it, and why no one did anything... or why they actually tried to do something when it was already too late.

This book belongs to magical realism: What happens in it are things that theoretically are normal in real life, but they are so ridiculously improbable of actually happening that they are "magical." Why, you say? Well, this is not fantasy, obviously, but when you're reading the novel, you're always thinking, "please, this is NOT realistic. If someone was threatening to kill another person, people WOULD do something. They would not stay quiet."

Yeah, I agree with that, since that was pretty much me when I read this for the first (and now second) time. But the thing is that the more you read, the more sense the things make. Improbable things suddenly become common and the usual becomes rare.

That's the effect this writer provokes.

Not only did he do that to me, but also the writing is so good (I read the original version in Spanish, so I don't know how the translations are) it grips you. He does not hide any of the facts and it's SHOWING, not telling – meaning the kind of writing we all love.

Characterization is excellent too, even when you never know the characters by some kind of narrator telling you how they think. As I said, the book is written in interviews format, so all you know about everyone is what the author of the article for the newspaper knows, including his own opinions about them.

I am really aware I am babbling right now, but I just wish you could just give this book a try. It's one of those classics that are worth it. It managed to approve the test of the 2015 rereads, which if I remember correctly, has just been approved by one series of all the books I reread.

Anyway, please, please, PLEASE add this book. If you're a fan of magical realism, you should read this too. I know latin-american authors are not very popular, but at least give this one a try. He really deserves your reading time.

I have not read anything else by this author, but I sure will. My mother has recommended me One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera... and I have plans of reading another one of his books. If you have read and liked one of those books, then this is just for you; if you didn't like them, then ehhhh; BUT if you're a newbie, I repeat: READ THIS.

" No dia em que iam matá-lo, Santiago Nazar levantou-se às 5 e 30 da manhã para esperar o barco em que chegava o bispo."

Imaginemos uma vila colombiana, isolada, cujos habitantes são dotados de uma mentalidade primitiva e preconceituosa. Imaginemos um casamento capaz de revolucionar a vida de toda a população, um noivo de sonho bonito e rico, uma noiva virgem que em vez de ser não o era, e como tal é devolvida ao lar paterno qual bagagem danificada. Este é o naipe que serve de ponto de partida para Gabriel García Márques baralhar e voltar a dar, criando um quebra cabeças cujas peças se movem ao seu próprio ritmo.
Num lugarejo em que a honra era o valor supremo, uma vez perdida, só o sangue do causador da infâmia poderia repor a dignidade familiar. Sequiosos de justiça, os irmãos devidamente munidos de facas de estripar porcos, anunciam aos quatro ventos a intensão da vingança. A partir daqui GGM leva-nos por um labirinto de coincidências sinistras que se vão acumulando e terminam num desfecho fatal. Quem gritou não foi ouvido, quem avisou não foi levado a sério quem escreveu não foi lido. Outro autor ter-nos-ia feito a vontade, os gritos teriam sido ouvidos, os avisos levados em conta, o bilhete devidamente lido e o prenuncio do 1º parágrafo não faria sentido. Mas isso faria deste livro, um livro comum, e comum não é palavra para adjectivar as obras de García Márques.
E ainda bem que assim é.
GGM tem o dom de potenciar emoções, de forma bem detalhada traz a lume os comportamentos mais básicos: primeiro a negligência, depois o remorso e o perdão, sem nunca deixar de fazer humor mesmo no meio da maior tragédia.
Esta foi a primeira obra que li deste autor e foi o suficiente para me deixar a firme convicção de que GGM será para sempre um dos meu escritores favoritos.

"Crónica de uma Morte Anunciada" (1981) pode ler-se como crónica, relato de eventos ocorridos, como o próprio título sugere, mas se melhor analisado poderemos ver que é um trabalho de narrativa experimental, como muito bem identifica Jane Alison na sua análise em "Meander, Spiral, Explode" (2019). Alison diz-nos que Márquez não conta uma narrativa linear, cronicando os eventos na sua ocorrência cronológica, mas antes o faz por meio de uma narrativa radial, expondo múltiplos elementos ao redor do evento e em direção ao clímax (ver imagem abaixo). À medida que ia lendo, fui concordando com Alison, e se tentei em parte compreender porque Márquez o fez, centrei-me mais em tentar perceber porque funciona para nós enquanto leitores.

[imagem - https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...]
Estrutura narrativa radial, uma proposta de Jane Alison


Se o relato dá conta de um assassinato consumado, logo nas primeiras páginas ficamos a saber: quem morreu e quem assassinou, assim como quando e porquê; ficando pouco para atiçar a curiosidade de quem lê, e no entanto seguimos atrás de Márquez sem qualquer problema, lendo sofregamente tudo, tentando entrar na cabeça de cada personagem que nos propõe, tudo para descobrir mais e mais sobre o "como"; porque é apenas isso que nos falta para fechar a história que se conta.

[imagem]
Mapa dos eventos de "Crónica de uma Morte Anunciada", criado pelo internauta JJ Marquete. Aqui podemos ver como todos os personagens e todos os eventos se ligam de forma centrípeta em relação à personagem principal de Santiago Nasar, o morto.


Enquanto lia, e tendo em conta o design da narrativa, fui-me sentido como no meio de uma pequena aldeia, ouvindo tudo e todos, aprendendo mais e mais sobre o como aconteceu. O crime é algo que nunca para de nos atrair, por mais que a nossa consciência tente dizer-nos que não nos diz respeito, é difícil passar ao lado de um acidente sem tentar olhar. Mas não é pela morbidez, na verdade o mesmo acontece quando o acidente não envolve feridos ou mortes, como um simples assalto. Por isso, o que temos é no fundo uma perturbação do estado das coisas, do padrão de normalidade, e a nossa ânsia ativa-se para perceber o que produziu essa alteração no padrão: o quê, quem, quando, porquê e claro como.

Inevitavelmente, isto prende-se com a nossa insaciável vontade de aprender, porque, evolutivamente, sobrevivemos melhor quanto melhor estivermos preparados, não só para lidar com os problemas, mas também para os antecipar e prever, medindo o alcance das suas consequências e evitando os seus potenciais danos.

E é disto que Márquez se aproveita, como no fundo aproveitam as histórias que se contam sempre, mas neste caso Marquez torna essa nossa avidez muito mais evidente porque poderíamos dizer que já sabíamos tudo o que havia para saber, contudo verificamos que assim não é, que à medida que as pessoas vão falando, vamos apreendendo dados desconhecidos sobre o sucedido e isso mantém-nos engajados, tentando encaixar os novos dados no modelo que já construímos sobre o que aconteceu e tentando compreender se se altera ou não a nossa perspectiva. Como se estivéssemos a tentar chegar a uma espécie de certeza absoluta sobre o sucedido. Enquanto o criador conseguir apresentar novos dados sobre o evento que possam de algum modo transformar o modo como pensamos que tudo aconteceu, a nossa atenção mantém-se e o interesse não desaparece.

Publicado no VI:
https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...