News of a Kidnapping (Vintage International) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of News of a Kidnapping (Vintage International)
Book Review: Marquez does journalism!
Summary: 4 Stars
In this book, Marquez uses his great story telling skills to relay to us the story of the victims of Pablo Escobars political kidnappings in Medellin. His great skill is in his ability to paint characters and emotions, he really lets you feel for each of the characters, even the kidnappers. It is a shocking insight into the world of the Medellin cocaine cartel. To hear the thoughts of the younger kidnappers, as they relay the stories of their past, 14 year olds payed to shoot policemen and other disturbing tales, you begin to realise that this is their life an they had no real alternative to what they do, other than death. While it may not have the wonderful spirituality of Marquez's other fictional works, it is a great indication of the skill he has with words and with storytelling.Book Review: disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed 100 years of solitude, I thought I'd read one of Marquez's real life stories. I have to say though that I was less than impressed. I'm sure it was a very true record of the events and did give an understanding of what's happening in Columbia, but I found it very dull. Halfway through I couldn't wait for it to be over. It certainly isn't one of those books that you can't put down, I had difficulty in picking it up. I've previously read Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and found that to be a much more gripping story of a true life event.Book Review: Life, grit and glory
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the fictional account of a turbulent time when Pablo Escobar kidnapped several journalists and relatives of government ministers. I can describe exactly what happened with this book, I bought it about 5 years ago and started it but it was a little slow and I left it. Then I started to read it again this year and I saw how he described people with intricate detail and he he highlighted the absurdities of the situation - that government ministers are forced to negotiate with criminals to release their wives of their sister even though they are forbidden to give the perception that they are negotiating with them.He describes people as real people twisted and tortured because they know what is right and also what they have to do to survive. Sometimes they are forced to compromise, both the criminals and the victims because they both have needs and to achieve their goals they have to work together. I still haven't finished it but I am relishing every moment with it...
One of the things Márquez captures is the idea that life is brutal and serious but also a game. When I went to Peru that seemed to be the attitude of most people.
Also Márquez seems determined to contrast the local traditions with the severity of the situation. The Antioquian area where Medellin is situated and where kidnappings are rampant and government corruption and massacres are huge is one the most well known for its hospitality and for the 'goodness' of its people (something familiar to Northern Ireland)....
Book Review: García Márquez as a journalist
Summary: 5 Stars
"News of a Kidnapping" reveals García Márquez first passion: journalism. Though it's a novel, it's inspired on a series of real events that happened on Colombia several years ago. There's no evident criticism, but it reveals and illustrates the political situation of Colombia at that time (though it is still happening at the present). If you read this book, you're going to suffer both the hostages situations as their families' (as if you were either one). But besides the dramatical situations, what is extremely interesting is the way the events are narrated. The odd chapters narrate the kidnapped people situations, their suffering. The even chapters narrate their families situations.
Though García Márquez always tend to jump back and forward into time in the same page, here the plot is more lineal and, as i said before, more journalistic.
Evidently, the kidnapping is one of the most awful crimes a human-being and his family can suffer, and by reading this, you will find out why.
Book Review: A tragic but fascinating insight into Colombia's troubles
Summary: 5 Stars
This book tells the story of a group of people kidnapped by Pablo Escobar, the world's most notorious drug dealer, as bargaining chips in his bid not to be extradited from Colombia to the US.I read this book after I married a woman from Medellin whose family had been through the pain of a relative's kidnapping (thankfully only for ten days). I bought it on Friday night and had read it by Monday morning, it is genuinely a book you do not want to put down.
Garcia Marquez really gets to the heart of the issue and gets across the personal feelings experienced by the hostages... and also their families, politicians, the kidnappers etc. His writing is fantastic and keeps you engaged at all times.
The book is deeply sad but also heart-warming and I occassionally found myself laughing out loud as I read it. It brings home to the reader how important the things we take for granted actually are compared with the trivia we tend to get most wound up/excited about.
I highly recommend it to everyone.