Genre
Short stories
Setting and Context
Colombia during an unknown historic time period
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator tells each short story.
Tone and Mood
The tone is overwhelming; the mood is dramatic and powerful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Margarito is the protagonist; Garcia is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the book occurs when Margarito travels all the way to Rome from Colombia to begin the lengthy process of making his dead daughter be considered as a saint.
Climax
The climax of the story is reached when Garcia falls in love in an airport in Paris with a woman he saw sleeping on a bench.
Foreshadowing
The fact that Margarito becomes a saint in the eyes of the reader is foreshadowed by the fact that he doesn't stop in trying to get his daughter made into a saint.
Understatement
The importance of strong relationships is understated throughout the novel.
Allusions
The story alludes to the close proxemics we all have with our neighbors.
Imagery
The imagery of a hopeless father pleading with the Pope is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that his daughter never becomes a saint is an example of paradox in the story.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Garcia's devotion to his Paris romance and Margarito's dedication to his dead daughter.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
