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No One Writes to the Colonel
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No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez
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This one broke my heart. I felt so bad for the Colonel. And, for those who want an idea of Garcia Marquez’ writing, this is a great start.
** spoiler alert ** A powerful short story. I read this in the original Spanish & GGM’s writing is so fantastic - he doesn’t waste a word & says so much in very short sentences. The Colonel & his wife are stuck, stuck, stuck & there is no resolution by the end; in this he tells us so much about real life in Colombia. It’s hard-hitting stuff. But the Colonel is respected, although he’s dirt poor & even though it’s stated that they are the only ones who don’t have a penny to bet on the cockfight, they are the ones gambling the most. As he is so well respected he is never given charity - a double-edged sword.
I would love to think that all comes well for them in the end, but is life actually that kind? It’s actually quite astonishing how much GGM makes us think & philosophise in such a short novel.
I would love to think that all comes well for them in the end, but is life actually that kind? It’s actually quite astonishing how much GGM makes us think & philosophise in such a short novel.
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This was an interesting prelude to Garcia Marquez' later, more expansive works. In a bit more than 100 pages, you are welcomed into his universe of simple, but surreal storylines and of characters that are equally life-like and caricatures. While this is a piece of fiction, it is also a window into what was (and might still be) Colombia in the 50's, with a society ever reeling from successive civil wars and regime changes. The colonel, being on the losing side of the last military conflict, visits the post office every Friday in the hope of receiving the letter confirming his promised state military pension, while his salvation (and his wife's) remains in a rooster with fighting potential...
read Jan. 2023The Colonel is an idealist caught in the machinations of ideologies. He took part in the Thousand Days War, in Colombia, as a young man. The novella is set nearly a lifetime later, when he is an old man and is still waiting to receive his pension as a veteran. Marquez is such an artful writer that he can make clear to the reader the martial law, the penurious circumstances, the hope/hopelessness, and draw memorable characters. 4*
15 years ago the colonel was promised a pension for his years of service. Every Thursday he goes to the post office, faithfully hoping to get his due. Meanwhile he and his wife live in deep poverty. This short story paints the bleak portrait of a man clinging to his dignity and his faith in his society.