Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez is a dramatic novella from the life experience of Márquez. Márquez Is a Columbian novelist and journalist who uses his journalist writing skills to tell the story as if you were there. As he brings you into this story where you question fate versus free will.

This book was fairly short and could easily be finished in a day or two. This book take place in Columbia and follows the true story of an honor killing. Márquez‘s writing skills shine in this book as he transports you to Columbia through his imagery and tells the story as if he was a police officer reporting the crime and going through every detail. The best part about the book was the culture that it represents. We see traditions and laws distinct to this culture. This book is a true tragedy as we see the main character’s fate decided for him, but unlike a tragedy it is comical through the use of irony.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has some free time on their hands. This is one of the first books that I truly enjoyed reading in a while. The story of this book was very good and straightforward, but there is also a lot of symbolism and other literary elements that elevate this book to a new level. If tragedies usually aren’t your type of thing, I still highly recommend it as incorporates humor.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.