No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez

[Sushicat]

El coronel no tiene quien le escriba, by Gabriel García Márquez - 4 stars

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.

[Tracy]

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.

[[deleted user]]

** 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.

[Patrick]

****

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...

[Valerie]

read Jan. 2023

The 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*

[Kristel]

Reason read: I read this because it is one of the 1001 books to read before I die and it fit the word challenge for the month of October 2025. I enjoyed it. The author thought it was his best book and he is quoted as saying that he had to write One Hundred Years of Solitude so that people would read No One Writes to the Colonel. I know that for me, One Hundred Years is probably my least favorite by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This is a story of an old couple decaying away as the Colonel has been waiting 15 years for his pension. the story explores themes of hope, despair, dignity, and the absurdities of life through the colonel's weekly trip to the post office and his family's struggle to survive. He and his asthmatic wife must choose between selling their prize rooster, a symbol of hope and defiance, for immediate cash or keeping it in the hopes of it winning at the cockfights.
The central conflict: The novella centers on the colonel's persistent but futile hope for a pension he was promised after fighting in a war.
Political context: The story is set against the backdrop of a turbulent period in Colombian history known as "la violencia," where martial law and oppression are a reality.
Symbolism: The rooster is a key symbol, representing hope and pride in a bleak world.