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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.

“Lera sem dúvida os clássicos espanhóis, e alguns latinos, e conhecia bastante bem Nietzsche, que era o autor da moda entre os magistrados do seu tempo. As notas à margem, e não apenas pela cor da tinta, pareciam redigidas com sangue. Estava tão perplexo com o enigma que lhe tocara em sorte, que frequentemente incorreu em divagações líricas contrárias ao rigor do seu ofício. Acima de tudo, nunca lhe pareceu legítimo que a vida se servisse de tantos acasos proibidos à literatura, para que viesse a cumprir-se sem entraves uma morte tão anunciada."

Na transição dos livros de mistério em que era viciada em adolescente, este foi um dos primeiros exemplos de “literatura a sério” a que tive acesso. Na altura, impressionou-me que "Crónica de Uma Morte Anunciada" começasse pelo final e, agora, depois de todos os livros com estruturas mais sofisticadas que já li, acho que a admiro ainda mais. A incredulidade e a sensação de impotência é o que permanece após esta releitura, porque quem soube previamente da tragédia que se ia dar não quis, não pôde ou não teve garra suficiente para evitar uma morte descabida.