Innocent Erendira - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Advantages: easy to read
Disadvantages: if you read the preface you know the outcome.

...This book marks a change for Garcia Marquez, whose best known books are works of fiction. In this novel, he tells the story of a journalist and her sister, kidnapped by guerillas in Colombia. It pulls no punches, and you get a real insight into what life was like for the two women in captivity. Marquez writes well in the journalistic style, making this an easier introduction to his work than something like "One Hundred Years of Solitude". As the book was written with the collaboration of the protagonists, you feel you are living the ordeal of their captivity with them, and with their families. The only drawback is that in the acknowledgements at the begining, the fate of some of the hostages is revealed. This doesn't detract from an excellent book, however.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Excellent plot and characterisation
Disadvantages: can be confusing

...When reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, it's easy to see why Garcia Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature for this outstanding book. One one level, it's the story of the Buendia family, who found a town deep in the South American jungle, where they live until their eventual downfall generations later. On another level it can be read as a cautionary tale - those who act badly come to a sticky end. It's full of the "magical realism" so beloved of the South american authors. Mystical and magical events and characters are portrayed in the most matter of fact and every day way. It's not an easy read, and it seems as if Garcia Marquez is trying to confuse his reader by giving lots of the main characters similar names. However, it's well worth sticking with, as once you've finished it you'll want to go back to the begining... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Witty, Exciting, Adventurous, brave, thoughtful
Disadvantages: too short?

...Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel Garcia Marquez consists of 12 short stories showing the difficulties facing Latin Americans for all walks of life. It is truly magnificent, in the way the author is able to capture so many moments that appear to pass by in other books. It captures the imagination like few other books can. Each story contains a unique character, one that we may be too hasty to judge too soon and some that may be misunderstood. However, the book contains stories that also bring a chill down your spine, with the foreboding that lies within a few of them. The beauty of it is, it is so conceivable. My favourite story in this collection, ''Light is Like Water''. This story touched me with it's tale of innocence and brave imagination. It is the account of two young Latin Americans who take the phrase ''Light is like water... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful