No One Writes To The Colonel

This collection of short stories, like a lot of Garcia-Marquez’s work is set in the fictional town of Macondo. The Colonel, a retired veteran of the Thousand Days War, is waiting for his pension. He’s been waiting for 15 years. Every Friday he walks to the dock to await the arrival of the post boat. Every week he’s disappointed. Struggling with poverty and financial insecurity their only lifeline is a rooster – itself the surviving link to a son lost to political repression. The rooster’s training will be their salvation once the cock-fighting season begins. How to eke out the interim two months is the problem. However, it’s Garcia-Marquez, so an exploration of the impact of the back-grounded political corruption and violence is the real point of the story.

Although “No One Writes To The Colonel is the “standout track” (Bolano called it perfect) the remaining stories hold their own. The setting of Macondo creates an air of familiarity (or, if you’re uncharitable, a nagging sense of déjà-vu ). Perhaps in anyone elses hands this would mean anyone unfamiliar with “One Hundred Years Of Solitude” would lose out. It’s a testament to a Garcia-Marquez’s skill that they read so well as stand alone pieces. That’s how I read them anyway. After 20 or so years the only thing I reliably remember is the title!