The 8th (and LAST) post...

I'm not gonna lie, I'm very happy this is my last post. This is mainly due to the fact that with exception to the last part of the book I read, this has been quite a sleeper. And this section was no different. The General is slowly declining, making less sense by the day, with brief moments of sanity every once in a while. Throughout his decline little bits and pieces of his past are reminisced about, and the reader slowly learns about his past and his accomplishments. Something that was actually interesting to learn about was the vocabulary in this book. There have been quite a few interesting words that I didn't know the meaning of or I thought were just plain interesting. Here are some of them from the last section:

quibble -n-petty or carping criticism; a minor objection.

bramble -n-a prickly shrub or bush.

culpable -adj-deserving blame or censure; blameworthy.

cynicism -n- An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others

fife -n-a high-pitched transverse flute used commonly in military and marching musical groups.

the 7th post...

I was very pleasantly surprised with this section of the book. The plotline actually started to pick up, and The General started to develop into more of an interesting character. Well I should rephrase that-more information and details were revealed about The General that made him seem like a more interesting character. On one of the nights on his journey out of town, The General and some of his officers played an entertaining game. However, this time, it wasn't entertaining for The General. He says, "I don't see how you can waste your time playing such a boring game" (63). I think this is very representative of his decline from a sharp, witty young general, to the sick man that he is. I think it is also a form of foreshadowing, in that he shows the reader a sign that The General is in his decline. That is why I predict that after this, The General will continue to slowly continue downhill until he passes away.

yet another post...

Honestly, this book has the slowest moving plotline of any book I have ever read. And the worst part about it is there is very little character development going on. However, through the info given on the back cover, and from what I've read so far, I predict that soon the author will start to talk about The General's past and the war's he's been in, which hopefully will be interesting. But for now, since there is no plotline or character development to talk about, here is a list of interesting/difficult voab from the book:

sentry-n-a soldier stationed at a place to stand guard and prevent the passage of unauthorized persons, watch for fires, etc., esp. a sentinel stationed at a pass, gate, opening in a defense work, or the like.

dysentery-n-an infectious disease marked by inflammation and ulceration of the lower part of the bowels, with diarrhea that becomes mucous and hemorrhagic.

gainsay-v-to deny, dispute, or contradict.

reconcile-v-to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired.

interminable-adj-monotonously or annoyingly protracted or continued; unceasing; incessant.

credulity-n-willingness to believe or trust too readily, esp. without proper or adequate evidence; gullibility.

Next post...

In this section of Julia Alvarez's The General in His Labyrinth, there is some character development shown in The General. The General (and his entourage) are beginning his departure from town, and it is a slow journey because of The General's declining health. They pass through many towns and villages on their way out of town, and although a few people offer support, there are far more people insulting him along the way. Things are written on buildings too. It is ironic, becuase less than three years before, in these same streets, people had flooded from their houses, celebrating The General's return from the foreign wars. They had been so enamoured by him then, yet now they couldn't insult him more. As The General and his entourage continue through small villaegs along the way, more and more of the villagers don't recognize him or don't know who he is. This hit hard with The General. As he put it, "I am no longer myself" (44). He knows that no only does he look different, but he IS a different person to these people...

The General in His Labyrinth continued...

The last section of the book that I read was only about 1o pages, but it was a natural stopping point becuase I reached the end of the first "chapter" (in The General in His Labyrinth the chapters aren't numbered, but there are clear parts-that would be chapters-to the story). In these pages The General's departure from Colombia finally happened. He bid farewell to all his former friends and many of the government officials and he was off on his journey, accompianed by many people to protect him and carry his belongings. Becuase not a lot happened in this section of reading, here is a list of moderate to difficult vocabulary terms from the section:

Aides-de-camp (32)-n-A subordinate military or naval officer acting as a confidential assistant to a superior, usually to a general, officer or admiral.

Cleric (32)-n-A member of the clergy.

Impertinence (36)-n-unmannerly intrusion or presumption; insolence.

Indictment (36)-n-any charge, accusation, serious criticism, or cause for blame.

Forsaken (36)-v-to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert.

Millenarian (31)-adj-of or pertaining to a thousand, especially the thousand years of the prophesied millenium.

Effusiveness (34)-adj-unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.

The next section...

I just put the book down from reading another portion of The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Again, it wasn't very interesting. I am still confused as to where this book is set. I konw that it is somewhere in the northern part of South America, because references are being made to Quito (in Equador), Lima (Peru), Bolivia, Caraca (Venezuela), and other parts of northern South America. However, throughout the book so far Simon Bolivar (more commonly talked about in the book as The General) has often been called "The General of The Republic". The problem is, it was never established earlier in the book exactly what "The Republic" is. I have assumed that it is The Republic of Colombia because of this quote from earlier in the book,
"...Congress designated for the coming year would meet without delay to elect another President of the Republic [to succeed him]"
"'After that,' he concluded, 'I will leave Colombia forever'"(15).
This led me to believe that he was President of the Republic of Colombia but it still bothers me that the author never clearly stated this information. What also bothers me about the authors writing style is his vague use of people and places. For example, he has brought up probably a dozen "General (so and so)" and "Field Marshal (so and so)" and with the exception of two, hasn't mentioned them other than in that sentence. Unless the reader knows much about the history of Southern America, the people and places mentioned won't mean much to them unless some further description is given.
Hopefully that is starting to change becuase in this section the reader learns more about Field Marshal Sucre and General Urdaneta. It is becoming clear that General Urdenta will be an antagonist in the novel, as he is against "The General" and against Field Marshal Sucre, who is a friend of "The General". The General wanted Field Marshal Sucre to succeed him as president, while General Urdaneta was against this proposition, due to the fact that he himself wanted to be president. Although Congress unanimously chooses a different candidate for president, I still believe General Urdaneta will cause trouble later in the book.