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. Stories within this collection include "No One Writes to the Colonel," "Tuesday Siesta," "One of These Days," "There Are No Thieves in This Town," "Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon," "Montiel's Widow," "One Day after Saturday," "Artificial Roses," and "Big Mama's Funeral." "García Márquez creates an absolute jewel of a novella in No One Writes to the Colonel, a story that evokes the entire range of human emotions from misplaced hope to blackest cynicism." "García Márquez's style is direct and matter-of-fact; in attitude, he accepts these characters with the same inevitability as they accept the heat and the rain." "[These stories] are told in spare, unpretentious, but picturesque prose, compassionate of human frailty but also rich in wit and irony. The characters are all too human, alternately humorous and tragic." "This collection of short stories is a listening treat that provides a kaleidoscopic view of Gabriel Garcia Márquez's fictional town of Macondo. Each of the four narrators is paired with specific stories, and their performances offer both variety and enthusiasm."