Guilty

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1981

Fiction; 160pgs

Though enjoyed, Marquez is an author with whom I am largely unfamiliar.  Even though I've read a handful of his books, I am by no means well versed in his output.  For many years, the extent of my Marquez knowledge revolved around One Hundred Years of Solitude (coincidentally one my favorite books ever) and Love in the Time of Cholera.  While the dearth of my reading was unfortunate, it shouldn't denote any lack of interest.  On the contrary, I very much desired to read more Marquez, it just never seem to come about.  Several years ago, I started the slow path towards improvement in this regard by reading The General in His Labyrinth. Years have since passed, but I was afforded the opportunity to further broaden my Marquez horizons courtesy of Mia Iseman.  I borrowed and devoured two Marquez novellas, A Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Of Love and Other Demons.  The latter shall be saved for another day.

Chronicle of a Death, I've been told, is Kafkaesque (Kafka being another hole in my first hand literary knowledge).  The story itself is seemingly simple: a man is murdered by two men.  It is only with each successive chapter than more and more of the story is revealed.  To be overly cliche, the Chronicle exists as an onion, as each page/layer is peeled, we are brought closer and closer to a more complete understanding at what exists at the core.

Though seemingly simple, there is much at work throughout the book.  It is rife with symbolism.  In particular, by the end of the story, the figure of Santiago Nasar is eerily Christlike, both in his dress and death.  Heightening this perception is the inaction of the community.  Though all were aware of what was about to take place, hardly anyone acted to prevent the death (the resultant communal guilt is given an interesting physical manifestation).

Books should be discovered on the reader's terms.  It is a singular pleasure and one I wish to respect, so I'm hesitant to enter into too much detail about the plot itself.  Instead, I will rely on each reader's desire to discover the Chronicle's gemlike prose.  It is a radiant, riveting piece of literature.  One of the best pieces of fiction I have read in a long time.

READ IT.