This will be a blog post in true ‘blog’ form- all of my raw thoughts on this book will be shared. Please expect less intelligent commentary from Marv here.

First of all, I loved this book. There’s SO much going on in so little pages. Marquez runs through many themes in this little text: the double standard cult of virginity, the hidden power of women in society, racial prejudice, classist bias, and the faulty nature of memories in our human minds while we have preconceived notions of people, places, and events.

Aside from there being a thousand characters in CDF, I felt as though the reading was easy to understand. Atonement, in my opinion, was exponentially more challenging to read. The themes here felt more obvious, the language simpler, the characters easier to read. I would not say that this book is any way ‘simple’, however. I am intensely impressed by how much is packed into this mini little literary work of genius.

As far as characters go, my opinions are pretty simple. I love Angela with my whole heart. My heart breaks for the abuse she received from her mother throughout her life. I wish I knew what the truth was regarding who took her virginity, but I respect her iron-clad secret. Santiago Nasar, on the other hand, is an absolute asshat. He continually assaulted Victoria Guzman’s daughter, Divina Flor, and was overall a menace to society. He was rich, too, of course, and as we all know, Marv does not favor such people. I have mixed feelings on Bayardo, honestly. He came out of nowhere and pointed to a woman to be his wife like a customer might point to an item they want to purchase. I am not surprised at this behavior, as it is the norm in this society. I remain to be disappointed, though. We also know absolutely nothing about him as a person, and although he proved to be seemingly harmless, who was he really?

As for the twins, I found them rather comical. My dislike of Nasar makes for a rather twisted approval of their actions, but can anyone blame them fully for the murder anyway? I feel sorry for the twins in a weird way. They went around and told quite literally everyone (minus Santiago Nasar) about their plans to kill him for their sister (Angela’s) honor. No one stopped them. The whole town is equally, in my perspective, guilty for Santiago Nasar’s violent death. Good for them, though- he wasn’t all that great.

This book is definitely re-read worthy. I could easily read this entire book within an hour if I had the time. The comedy and drama of it all makes for a fun read. The only thing I hate about this book is its ending. I’m not a big fan of hanging plot endings, so this book slightly killed my soul with that. I need closure, bro. But ANYWAY. Great book. I hope you keep teaching it or at least peer pressure and harass your student to read this. Excited for Persepolis!