By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

About Gabriel Garca Mrquez

Born March 6, 1927 Colombian novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist Considered one of the most significant authors of 20th Century Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 (earliest winner of the prize who is still alive) Left law school for journalism

 Best known for novels:

Mrquezs Works

Achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success Popularized a literary style known as magic realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations Some of his works are set in a fictional village called Macondo, which is inspired by his birthplace Aracataca, Colombia Most of his works express the theme of solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) Love in the Time of Cholera (1985)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Published in 1981 Recreates a murder that took place in Sucre, Colombia, in 1951 Santiago Nasar based on a good friend from Garca Mrquez's childhood, Cayetano Gentile Chimento Considered a combination of journalism, realism and detective story Plot revolves around Santiago Nasars murder Narrator acts as a detective One critics says the story unfolds in an inverted fashion. Instead of moving forward... the plot moves backwards. We learn in the first chapter, who killed Santiago Nasar, and the rest of the book is left to unfold why. Novella adapted into a film by Italian director Francesco Rosi in 1987

Themes of Chronicle
Shared victimization/shared guilt: Every character is somewhat to blame & is victimized in some way Honor/Familial duty Gossip Human routine: Humans live by patterns & routines Fate as an evasion of guilt: Santiagos death could have been prevented Machismo: emphasis on male pride & mens sexual bravado