Book description
Written with compassionate realism and wit, the stories in this mesmerizing collection depict the disparities of town and village life in South America, of the frightfully poor and outrageously rich, of memories and illusions, and of lost opportunities and present joys.
Why read it?
1 author picked No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Set in a fictional town on Colombia’s Caribbean coast during the 1950’s “violencia,” this novella portrays the seemingly mundane life of an anonymous retired military officer and his wife. The aging couple struggles against poverty, government corruption, and an overwhelming feeling of insignificance. As the colonel’s life loses meaning, he eventually realizes that he has nothing left but the rooster that he is readying for a cockfight. I read this novella after training with the Colombian Navy in Cartagena, and it took me only a few pages to realize that García Márquez is a genius.
From Thomas' list on set in the Caribbean.
If you love No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories...
Guesthouse for Ganesha
Guesthouse for Ganesha asks and answers: Left at the altar, spurned—what does that do to a young woman’s heart? And why would a Hindu God care?
Awarded the Gold Medal for Literary Fiction in 2020, Reader’s Favorite says "Guesthouse for Ganesha is a huge literary success, from the skillful…
Want books like No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories.
Browse books like No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,397
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories, you might also like...
Silver Lady
The world is fraying. Art is disappearing. And one woman sets out on the river before everything changes forever.
A few years into the future, society is unraveling. Violence is rising. The aftermath of a devastating pandemic still lingers. And across the country, a phenomenon known only as the Vanishing…
The Gates of Polished Horn
What happens when you’re face-to-face with a truth that shakes you? Do you accept it, or pretend it was never there?
Award-winning author Mark A. Rayner smudges the lines between realist and fabulist, literary and speculative in this collection of stories that examines this question—what Homer called passing through The…
