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| Plot Summary of Chronicle of a Death Foretold |
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"A man looks back a murder that happened 14 years ago, where twins of a lower class Spanish family kill a wealthy Arab named Santiago Nasar because they believe the man took the virginity of the sister of the twins. The man who looks back on the murder discusses the events that led to the murder, whether or not he thought the victim deserved his punishment (and if the victim even committed a crime at all), what took place after the murder and the effects of the crime on everyone in the city."
Matt Levin, Resident Scholar
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"In Marquez' vivid and riveting tale of love, rejection, revenge, and death, the narrator dredges up the twenty-seven-year old murder of Santiago Nassar by speaking to the man's mother and several others intimate with the story.
One morning Nassar wakes up groggy from the wedding festivities held the night before. Like his father Ibrihim, an Arab immigrant, Nassar has a fondness for young virginal girls. A warning note, giving the details of his pending murder, is slipped under his door but goes undetected until afterward. Waiting with knives are Pedro and Pablo Vicario, the twin brothers of disgraced, beautiful, and newly wed Angela Vicario. When it was discovered by her groom that the young bride was not a virgin, she was returned to the house of her parents in humiliation. As retribution, Nassar was to be killed for their shame.
The narrator goes back further in time to recall the first encounter between the couple, when Senorita Vicario despises Senior San Roman as a rich but highly conceited man, whom she had barely met before he asked her parents to marry her. The groom spends a small fortune to purchase a dream home for his bride-to-be and another incredible sum for the wedding celebration.
The twins openly admit to the murder and it would seem the entire town knew Nassar was going to be killed and yet no one raised an objection or moved to halt the vengeful slaying. The twins, butchers by trade were seen sharpening their knives only hours before the murder, bragging that the sharpened knives were for killing Nassar. The twins proceeded to inquire around town if anyone had seen Nassar. When asked why they needed him, the twins calmly said in order to kill him. Nassar's death brings about an uproar among the Arab population of the town. As the narrator moves back to the present day he tells of the suspicion that Nassar was not the one who had deflowered Angela and also of the long awaited reunion between Angela and San Ramon. "
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Chronicle of a Death Foretold |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Inside culture (main char)
- Hispanic/Spanish
Crime & Police story
Yes
Story of
- vigiliante-ism
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Hispanic
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
- wealthy
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- deluded
- wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Arab
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
- wealthy
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- deluded
- eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 (an average amount)
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Central
- The Caribbean
- South
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- touching of anatomy
Lot of foul language?
Yes
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
- No single main character?
- written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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