Hey everyone! I am yet again with a new book review. Hope you'll find it interesting.

When I visited the library near my place yesterday as a gloom-curbing method, my motives were clear: to pick up a short book by a world-famous author I had never read before, and to finish it in one sitting. So the moment I saw this sweet thing placed somewhere between all of Márquez , I didn't think twice before taking on to it. The colonel and his wife are two of the many frail and senile people living in war- torn Colombia in the 1950's (google La Violencia). Their town is under martial law and the colonel has been waiting for his pension to arrive for the past six decades, an apparent hollow promise his state had made to him while he was still serving. In dire need, they struggle to make ends meet, often skipping meals to feed their moody rooster. Every Friday the colonel waits for the postman to come with a word about his long-owed money, but 60 years have gone by, and still nothing. With a dead son, a few objects they're unable to sell off, and a battered life on the verge of its end, they must now resort to gathering patience and simply, the will to survive. 

Though the plot sounds impressionably easy, not much of these details are made obvious at once. It's in the complex layers Gabriel builds that he also manifests several revelations, dropping hints for us to paint the entire picture, thus keeping his novella thoroughly engaging. The political situation of the colonel's town slowly and debatably evolves into the most important character of the story, the only plausible reason behind the other characters' misfortune, largely contributing to its morbid and gloomy setting. There's a dooming sense of suspense throughout the book, and it hits you in waves, navigating through still-relevant societal vices like institutional corruption and the bigotry of war.

I loved it to bits! The mystique in GGM's words and their perfect brevity ensured that this was a quick and gratifying read. I think this book will linger around in my mind for a while at least. Upon further research I learnt that Márquez had once claimed this to be the best one he's ever written so if you haven't given him a go yet , you know where to start.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!