News Of A Kidnapping [Import] [Hardcover]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1st Us Edition edition (1997)
• ISBN-10: 0224050028
• ISBN-13: 978-0224050029
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,270,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful Reading, August 30, 2000

By 

Enrique Torres "Rico" (San Diegotitlan, Califas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: News of a Kidnapping (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) (Paperback)

If one were not familiar with the kidnappings that have occurred in Columbia, one might just believe this was a brilliant piece of fiction. Unfortunately this is not the case and Marquez does a fantastic job of recounting the terror that the hostages had to go through in their ordeal. This a true life tale of one of the plagues of Latin America. It is all to common to hear of prominent atheletes, entertainers and other high profile individuals being held ransom to fullfill a political cause. This is a story of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord and how he conducted his reign over Columbia. This is the story of the Medellin cartels attempt to pressure the United Staates into not exradicting any of it's members. The portrayl of the drug lords and their lackeys is brilliant, showing the human side of people who are inhumane. The captives are so real, as portrayed by Marquez that one becomes very emotional over the conditions they had to endure. This book details the kidnapping of various journalists, ten in all, one by one. An easy enough book to read one will finish this book quickly as the suspense is, to use a pun, captivating. That Gabriel Garcia Marquez would write such a book is amazing considering that he risks his life by doing so. True to his his journalist roots he did it at the urging of the released captives suggestion. Marquez is to be applauded for his effort and his bravery as well as he shed some international light on a terrible malady of Latin America. After reading this you will appreciate your freedom and and all the luxuries it affords.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the fainthearted.., April 17, 2001

By 

Hilde Bygdevoll (Stavanger, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: News of a Kidnapping (Hardcover)

Let me say this first: this is not a book for the fainthearted! If you have someone you care about in Colombia, you will drive that person (and yourself) crazy if you read this book!! (Unfortunately, I speak from experience.. *gentle smile*)

Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez is best known for his beautiful classic novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude". "News of a Kidnapping" is very different from the other novels I have read of García Márquez, but still very interesting and well written. If one were not familiar with the kidnappings that have occurred in Columbia, one might just believe this was just another brilliant novel by Garcia Márquez.

"News of a kidnapping" is a true-life story of one of the evils of Colombia and Latin America. García Márquez writes about the kidnappings of Colombian journalists, and other well-known persons or their relatives, ten in total. "News of a kidnapping" is the story of how these people lived during their endless months in captivity. While held hostages they were not tortured nor abused, but just being away from their families and loved ones for many months and the lack of news from the outside world wore them out. The emotional suffering was made even worse by the attitudes of their abductors. One moment they could be very nice to them, and in the next moment they could be behaving like wild animals. Parallel to the memoirs of the imprisoned journalists, we follow their families and their anxiety; and the fight to have the ones kidnapped set free.

In Colombia people live in constant fear of being the next victim of kidnapping, or maybe even worse, that their loved ones will be. All too often we hear of famous athletes, celebrities, or other high profile people being held ransom for money or to achieve other political goals. That Garcia Márquez has dared to write such a book is rather amazing, bearing in mind that he probably risked his life by doing so. This book will for sure change the way you look upon your personal freedom!

After finishing this book I realized that living in Norway is maybe not that bad after all. It is not the belly on earth, and not much is happening here, but Hey! maybe that's not so bad after all..

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To live under the guerillas sword., July 23, 2000

By 

Adriana Villanueva (Caracas, Miranda Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: News of a Kidnapping (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) (Paperback)

I read News of a kidnapping(Noticias de un Secuestro) of colombian writer, Gabriel García Márquez in spanish, and for me it was one of those book that I found myself cryng while reading it. Does it loose something with the translation?,I don't know; Does it loose something with the cultural gap?, maybe.Maybe if you don't live in a country were your physical integrity its in constant risk, you'll find this novel an odd version of Magic realism, but one musn't forget that García Márquez began his career as a journalist, and in his collected journalist works you could find in seed what you can fully appreciate in News of a kidnapping: That Gabo is almost as talented in non-fiction as he is in fiction. He might not be your typical or classical journalist, his works are so interesting and well written that you might think that you're reading fiction. Lástima that this is not the case: in Colombia, and lately in Venezuela, people live in constant fear of beign the next prey of the kidnappers,or maybe even worse, their loved ones. These menace is for everybody: Young, old, women, men, children, poor people, rich people. I think that García Márquez dared to write about something that few would: the kidnappings of a number of colombian journalists.How they lived during their endless months in captivity; their families and their desperation; the negotiations; the sacrifices of human life for what: An ideal...or greed? News of a kidnapping its a wonderful books of a horrible contemporary latinamerican issue.