Chronicle of a Death Foretold | 
pickEveryone knows Santiago is going to be murdered, yet nobody manages to prevent it from happening. An intriguing premise for a crime novel, and told from the perspective of a witness turned journalist. Márquez captured the by-stander effect decades before smartphones. 8/10
pickWhat a social critique by one of the world‘s greatest writers! Marquez, known for his eloquent passages, is briefer here. Yet he still tells a story full of color and wonder.
pickHere we go, with the first Márquez I've read actually.
It‘s pretty good...and I can't wait to dig into his work further...and I do have a feeling I‘m going to like some of the others much more.
He has an entrancing writing style; I feel like I can sense Faulkner in it heavy (I love Faulkner!), but not sure.
It‘s a very airy yet “clean” way of writing. He doesn‘t dilly dally with it though, and all the sentences and assertions seem to matter.
But most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honor are sacred monopolies, giving access only to those who are part of the drama.
I just worked with a student who wrote a paper about this book. She made it sound so good, I‘m going to have to read it now.
#thankfulThursday
Late here but @BarbaraTheBibliophage kindly tagged me so I want to respond. Apologies!
1) Ireland, Britain (niece lives near Newcastle),Spain, Japan
2) Grateful HS teaching ended Friday. Long distance learning challenging, long hours, miss students in person so much!!!
3) tagging whoever wants to do this.
#two4tuesday 1. The tagged book is the most recent I‘ve read in translation. 2. I am pretty good in French (much better reading than speaking these days) and so do read books in French. Tho my focus hasn‘t been good enough for it lately. Thanks for the tag @BarbaraTheBibliophage tagging
#MOvember #LikeAPrayer I can‘t remember what this book is about even ... need to reread. But our girl on the cover is dressed for ceremony & prayer ✨
pickAn interesting study at how people react in this town when they know a bad event is coming and how they read into each other‘s motivations and intentions. Everyone knows these brothers are planning to kill Santiago and this reconstruction looks at the action or inaction /belief or disbelief with which the brothers are treated leading up to the murder of Santiago.
pickSimply perfect ?. "It was like being awake twice" "La fatalidad nos hace invisibles" "Fatality makes us invisible"
pickA beautifully written novella which became even more intriguing when I read that Marquez based it on a real event - which is disturbing in a lot of ways.
pickReading this book was like watching a clock working. Short and light but still intense, I really enjoyed it and would totally recommend.
#AmazingBooks #BookLover #GabrielGarciaMarquez
"An open book is a talking brain; closed, a friend waiting; forgotten, a soul that forgives; destroyed, a heart that cries..."
Hindu proverb
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Just treated myself with Chronicle of a Death Foretold from the library. I'm so excited to start this one ?
#BookishToteBag #BookProverbs #BookLover #LoveBooks #BooksAreFriends ?
pickLove in the Time of Cholera is one of my favorite books, and I have enjoyed several of Marquez‘s short stories. I was happy to find this novella at the library. The narrator of the story looks back on the day that Santiago Nasar was brutally murdered in his hometown. Everyone in town seems to know of the murderers‘ plan, yet no one manages to prevent the killing. Marquez does not employ his usual elements of magical realism, but it is absorbing.
Finally got around to scoping out the cookie shop that recently opened up in my neighborhood. Delicious cookies and a good reading spot, I‘ve a feeling I‘ll be a frequent visitor.
so-soAn interesting story of a murder. It‘s only 120 pages, a fairly quick read. I think because it‘s in translation the language felt clunky. I had to reread sentences quite often to get their full meaning.
What will stick with me is the feeling of helplessness the entire town seemed to feel, in knowing the murder was going to happen but not being able to or knowing how to prevent it. I was frustrated how many didn‘t take action to help.
Alright, I decided to do it. Since it‘s supposed to rain all day tomorrow anyway, I won‘t be able to garden... although I may go plant shopping anyway. So here‘s my stack for #4in48readathon. These are all pretty short, so I think I can do it. 😊📚. Thanks for hosting @Syndelle777
If you‘re interested in participating check out Syndelle777‘s original post! Let‘s get our read on!
#MarchInBooks #OpeningLines
On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at 5.30 in the morning to wait for the boat the Bishop was coming on. He‘d dreamed he was going through a grove of timber trees where a gentle drizzle was falling , and for an instant he was happy in his dream, but when he awoke he felt completely spattered with bird shit...
He was always dreaming about trees, Placida Linero, his mother, told me ....
Yeah, that‘s me! I‘m trying to catchup all the unread and not buying anything until I‘m on my last book. It‘s been really hard but so far I‘m behaving. 🤣🤷♀️💜📚 Who else have this problem?
pick3.5/5🌟
A sense of amazement struck me when within a few pages Santiago was murdered by the Vicero brothers who were seeking vengeance for the honour of their sister. Quite opposed to a murder fiction where the murderer is to be identified throughout the book, this story was about the subjective interpolation of the murder rather than the objective event.
Definitely a must read if you want to find the truth behind a death so foretold.
pickOne of the strangest, and most complex novellas I ever taught (and the most fun to have a mock trial with eleventh graders for)
Leaving for a week's vacation with the In-laws 😳in Italy 😊. I decided the tagged book was the only book I'd take for me. We are lugging the brick that is Assassin's Fate too though, since we are reading together.
#UncannyOctober #firstpersonnarrative
The narrator of this novella uses first person.
“But most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not, consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honor are sacred monopolies, giving access only to those who are part of the drama.” 27 years later the narrator investigates his hometown‘s role in the honor killing of Santiago Nasar. Why did the town do nothing to warn him? Rich in detail of a seaside town‘s culture & a murder. Student read. #teachersoflitsy
I discovered a new little used bookstore in my town and spent a little time there yesterday. This is what came home with me 📚
PS is the app crashing for you guys when you try to add a filter? It took me 5 tries to make this post 😡
So this book came to our branch as a hold. It has zero circs and was completely marked up cover to cover! So 1--did someone sit at the other branch, reading and marking? or 2-- did this get donated and whoever processed it didn't look carefully? It's written ALL OVER, even on the edges! #litsyloveslibraries #yourguessisasgoodasmine
I'm so behind on #junebookbugs so I'll be trying to catch-up today. This was my first García Márquez book and I loved it from the start. The title says it all: Chronicle of a #death foretold
pickI had a bizarre conversation with my parents "what's the name of the book about a whole town that knows someone is going to get murdered and no one does anything to stop it?"
Needless to say they were no help despite the fact they had lent me the book in Croatia. Queue google. It's a wonderful piece of magical realism. This cathartic investigation, leaves the main character still a mystery and is reverting from beginning to end!! #holidayreads
pickRating: 4/5.
Magical Realism at its finest. Gabo is a genius and I am floored.
My third and maybe final book for the #readathon . The caffeine has stopped working, and I'm fading even though I'm riding a book high from Parnassus.
And some #bookmail for work/teaching, too #TeachersOfLitsy
Can you guess the book under the fabulous...Chronicle of a Death Foretold? Hint...Founding Fathers 🤔
pick
This books embraces any number of contradictions, in both style, tone and plotting and yet I absolutely adored it. I think it will go on my regular re-reads pile for sure
pickBook 2 down for #24in48! In this slim novella, García Márquez's background in journalism is showcased, as the plot follows an honor killing in a tone reminiscent of investigative journalism or true crime. Though it still has his characteristic magical realism touches, this book explores gender expectations for men and women (machismo and purity, respectively) and the action or inaction of the community before and after a crime is committed.
