The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor - 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: a very good book, you learn a great deal about social mechanisms
Disadvantages: none

...This is a true story. The mother did really hear her son screaming outside the door. She thought he was only joking, because he was talking to someone, but in reality he was screaming for help and trying to save his life by getting into the house. But the door was locked and thus two men killed him. Marquez describes how and why this murder happened and it turns out that they did not plan it outright, but were forced to do it, because the whole community and tradition expected if of them. Because the killers do not want to murder him outright, the victim even receives a warning through his friends – they cannot save his life however. The story ends really tragically and touched me, even more so, because it was real. This murder is rather odd, as well as the whole story around it. It really shows you how traditions govern people... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful