See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

37 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
News of a Kidnapping
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

News of a Kidnapping (Paperback)

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Author), Edith Grossman (Translator) "SHE LOOKED OVER her shoulder before getting into the car to be sure no one was following her ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


2 new from £25.00 33 used from £0.01 2 collectible from £10.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 27 used & new from £0.56
Paperback £7.99 £5.99 24 used & new from £2.97

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Of Love and Other Demons

Of Love and Other Demons

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.99
Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4.4 out of 5 stars (11)  £5.99
Leaf Storm

Leaf Storm

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99
Memories of My Melancholy Whores

Memories of My Melancholy Whores

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3.3 out of 5 stars (9)  £5.99
The Autumn of the Patriarch

The Autumn of the Patriarch

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4.3 out of 5 stars (10)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (30 Jul 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140267832
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140267839
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 315,404 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #63 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Garcia Marquez, Gabriel

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
This text narrates the kidnapping of Maruja, a well-connected journalist in her 50s living in Botoga, and of her sister-in-law, Beatriz, by the gangs run by Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin drug cartel, and one of the richest men in the world.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
SHE LOOKED OVER her shoulder before getting into the car to be sure no one was following her. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
gabriel garcia marquez
true crime
spanish and latin american literature
spain - portugal - latin america
piedmont reading club
magic carpet ride
literature nobel prize winners

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

News of a Kidnapping
59% buy the item featured on this page:
News of a Kidnapping 4.0 out of 5 stars (22)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
14% buy
Chronicle of a Death Foretold 4.4 out of 5 stars (11)
£5.99
Of Love and Other Demons
10% buy
Of Love and Other Demons 4.6 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
The Autumn of the Patriarch
9% buy
The Autumn of the Patriarch 4.3 out of 5 stars (10)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A tragic but fascinating insight into Colombia's troubles, 7 Nov 2003
By A Customer
This book tells the story of a group of people kidnapped by Pablo Escobar, the world's most notorious drug dealer, as bargaining chips in his bid not to be extradited from Colombia to the US.

I read this book after I married a woman from Medellin whose family had been through the pain of a relative's kidnapping (thankfully only for ten days). I bought it on Friday night and had read it by Monday morning, it is genuinely a book you do not want to put down.

Garcia Marquez really gets to the heart of the issue and gets across the personal feelings experienced by the hostages... and also their families, politicians, the kidnappers etc. His writing is fantastic and keeps you engaged at all times.

The book is deeply sad but also heart-warming and I occassionally found myself laughing out loud as I read it. It brings home to the reader how important the things we take for granted actually are compared with the trivia we tend to get most wound up/excited about.

I highly recommend it to everyone.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars flawed, 6 Feb 2005
By Jonathan Baillie Strong "jbs" (london) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Garcia Marquez returns to his original vocation as a journalist for this book, mixing factual reporting with narrative in documenting a series of kidnappings that took place during the turbulent period in Colombia at the beginning of the 90s.
It's an interesting idea to merge the two styles, providing the oppertunity to gain a deeper understanding of the reality that the victims had to endure and the events that occured in the wider context of the kidnappings; However, there was a sense of detachment throughout the whole book with the characters, who never really seemed to come to life....
Nevertheless, the book does go some way in conveying the complex political situations that occured during that time in an understable way.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars How can people live in such conditions?, 1 Feb 2001
By A Customer
How can people live in such circumstances? This book really brought home the effects of the Colombian "drug wars", as well as providing a great insight into the nature of the human spirit. Wonderfully written as well. Strongly recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A factual novel
In News of a Kidnapping, Gabriel Garcia Marquez rewinds temporarily and returns to his journalistic roots, covering the personal histories of some of the most notorious kidnap... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Teapot

5.0 out of 5 stars García Márquez as a journalist
"News of a Kidnapping" reveals García Márquez first passion: journalism. Though it's a novel, it's inspired on a series of real events that happened on Colombia several years ago... Read more
Published on 25 April 2003 by dmpulp

5.0 out of 5 stars Life, grit and glory
This is the fictional account of a turbulent time when Pablo Escobar kidnapped several journalists and relatives of government ministers. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2003 by Mr. Roderick W. White

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed 100 years of solitude, I thought I'd read one of Marquez's real life stories. I have to say though that I was less than impressed. Read more
Published on 18 April 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Marquez does journalism!
In this book, Marquez uses his great story telling skills to relay to us the story of the victims of Pablo Escobars political kidnappings in Medellin. Read more
Published on 21 May 2001 by johnussutherland

2.0 out of 5 stars was something lost in the translation???
This book shows how a gifted fiction writer can struggle with non-fiction. Makes what could have been a fascinating story into a rather dull one. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars A very confused narrative.
When reading this book I kept imagining the editor who received an incoherent manuscript from a famous author about a fascinating subject matter. Read more
Published on 18 Dec 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars Great account of the effects of a kidnapping
This is great book because it shows the emotions involved from all sides of a kidnapping in Colombia by the drugs baron Paola Escobar. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars GGM never fails to impress.
As a Canadian who has visited Colombia, it is refreshing to read about the drug trade events from the perspective of a Colombian citizen. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting ........ Once again great entertainment
The characters are fantastic . . its as if I could actually touch their spirit, their soul.... this could be real life. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 1998

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Love in the...

Love in the Time of Cholera

‘It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of... Read more
£7.99 £5.49

 

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates