A story on politics, injustice and violence
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No one writes to the Colonel was written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Paris, when the newspaper where he worked closed and he resumed to poverty. It is the story of a Colombian Revolution Colonel who has been waiting for his veteran-pension for 15 years. He lives with his sick wife a monotonous but strenuous life, where everyday is a miracle to be able to survive. It is a slow pace story, to match the slow and sad life of the characters, to transmit the resignation and hope of this man. It is a story about politics and dictatorship. It doesn't make you fell sorry for the couple, but rather fell angry about that country, it's fake revolution and it's politicians. It is a story on injustice and violence, a man that after serving for his country is condemned to survive without money, trying to keep his son's dream and death alive.
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Mr T Hunter
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Nobody writes to the colonel (El coronel no tiene quien le escriba if read in spanish) is a masterpiece, one of Marquez' classic works. It is very subtle in its explanations of daily life in a small Colombian village. This book treally has to be read in its original Spanish form to understand how Marquez has intended the reader to perceive certain occurrences.
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Grows on you...
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"No-one Writes to the Colonel" is an atypical read in that nothing happens. So if you're looking for a story with suspense and drama about fast-moving Latin American life, I'd advise you to stay clear. However, it is constructed with a loving tenderness, and Marquez has labelled it as one of his personal favourites. It needs to be read slowly, perhaps a couple of times, and without anticipation. It is only then that the reader will begin to feel a genuine affection for the characters and their plight. The uninitiated reader should know what to expect, and might be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised, but a must-read for lovers of Marquez.
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Waiting with the colonel might not be your cup of tea
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So I waltz into the book shop after reading "One Hundred Years Of Solitude" and buy this novella. And then I wish I hadn't. I wait and wait for something to happen in the life of the colonel, waiting for his pension and his wife, permanently sufffering from various medical complaints. Not until the end did I realise that that was the point. I very nearly didn't bother to finish it, frustrated by the vague pessimism and slow decline of their lives. Thank goodness I carried on! Not until the last word is it a worthwhile read, but once you reach it you finally realise why all the others were necessary. Unfortunately, I felt quite resentful for having to do a 10 mile prose run for a literary alchopop. Definately a matter of personal opinion.
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