Introduction

Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a 1981 novella by the renowned Colombian writer and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The story revolves around the death of Santiago Nasar in a small village. The narrator, an unnamed former citizen of the town who knew the victim and his killers, aims "to put the broken mirror of memory back together from so many scattered shards." He returns to the town 27 years later to compile the "chronicle," which becomes this novella.

Plot Summary

An unnamed narrator begins by recounting Santiago Nasar's movements on the morning of his murder. The bishop was passing through the village that day, so despite late-night festivities following Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario's wedding, Santiago and others awoke by 5:30 a.m. Nasar's servants heard that the Vicario twins planned to kill Santiago but thought it mere "'drunkards' talk.'"

By 6:00 a.m., Santiago had seen the bishop, and Pedro and Pablo Vicario were at Clotilde's shop. As the men rose to follow Santiago, Clotilde told them to leave Santiago alone until after the bishop left, giving them a momentary pause. The bishop's boat whistled as he made the sign of the cross, and his visit concluded. Santiago walked with Cristo Bedoya in the square. Many people heard about the Vicarios' intent but assumed Santiago knew about the rumors or thought the twins were bluffing. 

That morning, the narrator's sister learned that Angela had returned to her parents' house after her new husband discovered she was not a virgin. This led the narrator's family to worry about Santiago, but when they left the house to investigate his whereabouts, a neighbor announced he was dead. 

The narrator describes how Bayardo San Roman came to live in the town six months before the wedding. Despite their class differences, Bayardo was eager to marry Angela. Though she had strict parents and was never alone with Bayardo, Angela wasn't a virgin. Her friends coached her in ways to convince Bayardo she was "intact."  

After the ceremony, Santiago discussed the wedding costs with Cristo. Once many of the revelers had left, the Vicario twins were still drinking with Santiago. Later, Bayardo showed up at the Vicario house to return Angela and found that her mother viciously beat her. When her brothers found her bruised and crying the next morning, they asked who she had slept with, and she blamed Santiago. 

The Vicario brothers showed no "remorse" during the three years they waited for trial. The narrator asserts, "There had never been a death more foretold." For example, when the twins went to sharpen their knives, they directly told a butcher they were going to kill Santiago. Then they went to Clotilde's store, where they drank liquor and openly admitted to wanting to kill Santiago. 

The butcher told a police officer who told Colonel Aponte about the Vicario brothers. He didn't take the threat seriously until he found out Angela had returned to her parents and began to piece together the details. He confronted the twins at Clotilde's store and took their knives. The twins got more knives while telling over a dozen more people of their intentions. After losing the first set of knives, Pablo had to convince Pedro to continue with the plan. He spoke of the killing as fated: "It's as if it had already happened." 

After twenty-three years, the narrator reunited with Angela. Despite suspicions Santiago didn't deflower Angela, she insists it was him. Angela recalls the details of her wedding night; she never tried to trick Bayardo, having "made up [her] mind to die." Later, she saw...