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.

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.

Realidad y ficción se entrelazan para crear esta increíble historia contada por un grande de la literatura latinoamericana como lo es Gabriel García Márquez.

Nunca una muerte estuvo tan anunciada!
En esta novela, escrita a forma de crónica, somos participe del asesinato de Santiago Nasar perpetrado a manos de los gemelos Pablo y Pedro Vicario. Es así como se nos narra entre saltos temporales los acontecimientos que dan motivo del asesinato y nos adentramos a la perspectiva de diversos habitantes del pequeño pueblo donde se desarrolla la trama. Un pueblo que se prepara a presenciar este evento como si de un espectáculo se tratara. La novela se va contando de manera increíble y está dotada del estilo único de su autor. Tenemos una estructura no lineal pero aún así se consigue un entendimiento perfecto de la historia. Crónica de una muerte anunciada respira de un humor negro y de eventos surrealistas contadas de manera excelente.

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.

"Kötülük dünyada değil insanın yüreğinde"
Marquez edebiyatın en sansasyonel açılış cümlelerinden biriyle başlıyor Kırmızı Pazartesi’ye: "Santiago Nasar, öldürüleceği gün, piskoposun geldiği vapuru beklemek için sabah saat beş buçukta kalkmıştı.”
Kaçışı olmayan, önceden haber verilen bir ölümü bekliyoruz hep beraber. Ağır çekimde yavaşça sona doğru yol alıyoruz, herkes biliyor, herkes farkında ancak hiçkimse bir şey yapamıyor. Hepimiz seyirciyiz ve sonu bize söylenen bir filmi izliyoruz.
Bu kitap aslında bir toplum eleştirisi. Öldürülecek kişi haricinde herkesin bildiği ancak kimsenin engellemediği bir cinayet öyküsü. Cinayeti işleyen yalnızca katiller değil, olacakları bildiği halde engellemeyen toplum değil mi? Namus-kan davası-masumiyet kavramlarına bambaşka bir pencere sunan, insan psikolojisinin herkesin farklı baktığı suç-ceza kavramlarıyla nasıl şekillendiğini gösteren ve usta yazarın kusursuz anlatım tarzı ve üslubuyla yarattığı bu kitabı bir solukta okuyup bitireceksiniz.

It's possible that Gabriel Garcia Marquez's grocery list is better written than most of what stands on your bookshelves.

What Marquez does feels less like writing and more like the conveyance of a mood or a dream that imprints itself on paper as you read, then disappears behind you.

It's hard to find fault with him as a writer.

This is a particularly fascinating "skinny read," a little book with a lot of bang for your buck.

It is highly literary and also incredibly thought-provoking. I highly recommend it, especially for book clubs and advanced classrooms.

n  n    limandan dönmekte olan insanlar, bağrışmalardan telaşlanarak, cinayete tanık olabilmek amacıyla meydandaki yerlerini almaya başlamışlardın  n

HEPİNİZ ORADAYDINIZ BE!

belediye başkanı dahil kitaptaki tüm karakterler oradaydı be!



marquez ile tanışmak için harika bir kitap kırmızı pazartesi...

bence marquez okumak bir çeşit uyuşturucu, uyarıcı madde kullanmak türünden bir gerçeklik.

bunu temel seviyede şöyle anlatabilirim, alkolün seni etkilemeye başladığı an hoşbulduk demek geliyor mu mesela içinden? o bilindik teslim oluyorum galiba hissi, nefesteki alkol kokusu, görüşte bulanıklık, algıda boş vermişlik.

bir, vaha sanki alkollü sen hali, öyle değil mi?

alkol yerine daha az uyarıcı olan kahveyi de düşünebilirsin pekala.

marquez de bu gibi bir uyarıcı madde sanki. okurken yavaş yavaş teslim oluyorsun, büyülü gerçekliğine adım atıyorsun, ve, bam! harikalar diyarındasın.

gerçeklik bükülmeye başlıyor, o bilindik karakterler evlerinden çıkmaya başlıyor, yeni tanıştığın karakterleri dinliyorsun ama daha önce dahil olduğun diyaloglar çağrışım yapıyor, başka tür bir oksijen yakıyorsun, görüşünü peri tozu etkiliyor, algıda gabriel garcia marquezcilik...

büyü zaman zaman seni fizik yasaları ile sabit olan evrenine itiyor, düşünüyorsun, tekrar devam ediyor sonra.

işleyen bir saat gibi ilerliyor elinde kitap.

mükemmel bir deneyimsin sen marquez!

kırmızı pazartesi ile ikinci kere giriş yaptım anlatmaya çalıştığım evrene.

yine çok etkilendim, yine kitap bittiğinde tadı damağımda kaldı.

bir türk okuru olarak (kitapta biraz aşağılanıyoruz da) seviyorum seni ve eserlerini, çok da şey yapma sen yine bize. param ile kendime dokunulmazlık kazandırdığımı düşünmüyorum mesela ben, her arap da türk değil, deve mi kaldı allasen, şimdi herkesin iki alman arabası var burada :(

sanki iki kez uyanık olmak gibi bir şeydi kırmızı pazartesi, bak hala yazmak istiyorum hakkında, durdurun beni!

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!

Unavoidable.

Santiago Nasar has taken over the family ranch after his father’s death, and now lives merrily with his mother, Placida Linero; the cook, Victoria Guzman; and her daughter, Divina Flor. The day starts normally; wakes up in the morning, chats with this mother over breakfast, and sets off to take care of the ranch. Your last day usually starts like any other; but Santiago is going to die today, he just doesn’t know it yet.

This was one of my first Marquez books and one of the best I’ve ever read by him. The whole plot felt mostly three stars, adding an extra star for the absolutely mind blowing last scene. It’s been decades and I still can’t forget the shock of that twisted horrifying ending, and probably never will. This novel may not be as good as Marquez’s masterpiece, “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, but it was perfectly quick and impactful, and I think it’s a fantastic place to start with Marquez’s works.

*** I remember next to nothing of the movie (1987). I have rated it 4/10 on my IMDB account years ago so I guess that explains why. It wasn't memorable then and doubt it is now. Was planning to rewatch it but now thinking it's not worth it. Some movies don't age well. Stick with the book.

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n  PERSONAL NOTEn:
[1981] [120p] [Classics] [Recommendable]
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★★★★☆ Chronicle of a Death Foretold.  
★★★★☆ Of Love and Other Demons.  [3.5]
★★★☆☆  The Autumn of the Patriarch.  [3.5]
★★★☆☆ The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor.  
★★☆☆☆ No One Writes to the Colonel.  [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ Strange Pilgrims: Twelve Stories.
★☆☆☆☆ Innocent Erendira and Other Stories. [1.5]

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Inevitable.

Santiago Nasar se encargó del rancho familiar desde la muerte de su padre, y ahora vive felizmente con su madre, Plácida Linero; la cocinera, Victoria Guzmán; y la hija de ella, Divina Flor. El día comienza normalmente; despierta por la mañana, habla con su madre durante el desayuno, y se va a cuidar del rancho. Tu último día usualmente empieza como cualquier otro; pero Santiago va a morir hoy, sólo que aún no lo sabe.

Este fue uno de mis primeros libros de Márquez y uno de los mejores que jamás leí de él. Toda la trama se sintió mayormente como tres estrellas, añadiendo una estrella extra por esa absolutamente inolvidable escena final. Han pasado décadas y todavía no puedo sobreponerme al shock de ese retorcidamente horrorífico final, y probablemente nunca podré. Esta novela tal vez no sea tan buena como “Cien Años de Soledad”, pero fue perfectamente rápida e impactante, y creo que es un fantástico lugar para empezar con las obras de Márquez.

*** No recuerdo casi nada de la película (1987). Según mi cuenta de IMDB la califiqué 4/10 años atrás así que supongo que eso explica por qué. No fue memorable entonces y dudo que lo sea ahora. Planeaba volverla a ver pero ahora creo que no vale la pena. Algunas películas no envejecen bien. Quédense con el libro.

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n  NOTA PERSONALn:
[1981] [120p] [Clásicos] [Recomendable]
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Ay bu kitabı da övmeyeyim dedim ama 100 sayfada da kitap nasıl yazılır diye çatanak yüzümüze vurmuş.

Frumos!

جاءت التجربة الأولي لي مع الكاتب الكولومبي الشهير "غابرييل غارسيا ماركيز"، مع الرواية القصيرة "قصة موت مُعلن"، وهي تجربة أعدها جيدة مُجملاً.

يأتي اسم الرواية شارحاً لقصتها، فهي قصة عن موت أُعلن في أحد القرى، جريمة شرف، القرية بأكملها أصبحت على علم بمن المقتول؟ ومن القاتل؟ ولكن المقتول وحده من كان جاهلاً بما ينتظره.
القصة على صغرها، مليئة بالتفاصيل، والشخصيات، التي قد تجعلك تنبهر أو تمل، وللسبب نفسه، أن الحكاية الصغيرة تحمل كُل تلك الشخصيات، وهنا كان تميز الرواية، أن ترى القصة من مُختلف الجوانب، وكُل مرة تشعر أن هناك تفاصيل جديدة، ورُبما لا، مُجرد إعادة سرد للقصة فقط.

ورغم أن قصة الموت مُعلنة، إلا أن الفصل الختامي فاجئني أيضاً، طريقة الموت، وما تلاه، الوصف المُفرط الذي يشعرك بتدفق حرارة الجو حولك، ولون الدماء تراه بين السطور، الحزن الشديد، والحيرة، الخوف والجُبن.
كان هناك محاولات لمنع الموت من أهل القرية، ولكنها آتت بطريقة بائسة للغاية، وكأن هذا الموت أصبح قدراً، يجب على "سانتياغو" أن يتقبله، ويجب على الأخوة "فيكاريو" أن يُنفذوه، حتى لو كان ذلك عكس رغبتهم. فعلى الرغم من أنهم قرروا أن يقتلوا "سانتياغو" إلا أنهم كانوا يصرخون في كُل مكان يذهبون إليه بأنهم سيقتلونه، هذه ليست تصرفات أشخاص تنوي الشر، هذه تصرفات أشخاص مُجبرة عليه، وتتمنى أن يمنعهم أحد، ولو بالضرب، أو حتى القتل.

القصة قد تفتح تأويلات عديدة، رُبما عن المجتمع العاجز ضد التقاليد التي حُفرت في أذهاننا، وحتى أن المجتمع لم يُعطي الفرصة للمقتول أن يُدافع عن نفسه، تلك الحيرة التي رسمها "ماركيز" ببراعة، أن تكون مُتيقنا ومُتردداً في نفس الوقت، هل فعلاً فعلها "سانتياغو نصار"؟ أم الأخت "فيكاريو" تُخفي شخصاً ما، في الحقيقة، لا نعلم، ولن نعلم، فهذا ليس موضوعنا بكل تأكيد، ولكن موضوعنا كم أن المجتمع أصبح أخرس، وعاجز أمام التقاليد والعاهات، وحتى التأكد منها على سبيل التحقق، لن يكون وارداً، فقط أقتل من تشك فيه، ودع التحقق فيما بعد.