Synergy of Styles

A Synergy of Styles analyzes Gabriel García Márquez's approach to fiction and journalism by studying several characteristics inherent in both types of his work. Gloria Jeanne Bodtorf Clark uses Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor to explore the different paths García Márquez takes in creating fact and fiction. García Márquez called his goal a "confluence" of literature and journalism. These two works reflect two different approaches to fact. Chronicle of a Death Foretold represents fiction written as fact, while Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor represents fact written as fiction. The author places these works in their historical context and subjects them to a close reading to analyze the internal workings of the narrative. Clark also integrates the thoughts of many North American and Hispanic writers, as well as those of many major critics on the relationship between fact and fiction.