Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014) was a Colombian writer. He was born in the town of Aracataca, the inspiration for Macondo, the setting of his masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude. His use of ‘magical realism’ in his writing would go on to inspire many other writers, including Salman Rushdie and Toni Morrison. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
Books by Gabriel García Márquez
“Crónica de una muerte anunciada is my favorite book by Gabriel García Márquez. I just love it. I read it when I was 13 or 14. It’s a book that as soon as I finished it I started reading again, and again, and again. I was obsessed with it. It truly made me want to become a writer. I said, ‘I want to write a book one day that will obsess a person like this book obsessed me.’ Since then, I’ve read it many, many times. I teach it in my workshops, I work with it. It’s a perfect novel. Every creative writing lesson that you want to give is in there: the narrator, the narrative times, the universe, the character development. I just loved it. And it’s a short novel, which is a very difficult genre. A big novel, you can sometimes write a vague paragraph, or a sentence that doesn’t quite work. But with a short novel, as with a short story, the whole thing has to be good.” Read more...
Pilar Quintana, Novelist
“What García Márquez does is tell a story of the history and culture of Latin America from the point of view of the ordinary person. He manages to do that through this deadpan narrator who can mix the savagely real with the wonderful, and narrate a family saga which is also a history of Latin America. This book really put Latin American literature on the international map because it is a novel which, while deeply Latin American, is also accessible to all readers.” Read more...
The Best Latin American Novels
John King, Literary Scholar
“This is about love as opposed to sex. He’s talking about love in all its forms, including unrequited love that goes on for 50 years…It’s partly such a passionate book because of the beauty of the prose, describing love through time and how she found contentment – love, passion and sex all in one. The prose just drips sexuality and sensuality. It’s sexy enough without having to read about deep positions or anything” Read more...
The best books on Sex and Marriage
Kate Figes, Journalist
Interviews where books by Gabriel García Márquez were recommended
The best books on Sex and Marriage, recommended by Kate Figes
Research shows that middle-aged sex is the best of people’s lives, says journalist and author Kate Figes. She picks the best books on sex and marriage.
The Best Colombian Novels, recommended by Pilar Quintana
Colombian novels shot to international prominence after the publication of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, which told the story of his small, Colombian hometown by mixing in fantastical elements. The novel spoke to readers around the globe and García Márquez would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here, contemporary Colombian novelist Pilar Quintana introduces us to the works of this ‘genius’ as well as some of the other great novels of Colombian literature.
The best books on Translation, recommended by Edith Grossman
The award-winning literary translator Edith Grossman discusses books on and of translation that inspired her, and considers the trade-off that every translator faces, between fidelity and meaning
The best books on Family History, recommended by Turtle Bunbury
The Irish-based writer says studying families is a fascinating way to learn about the past, and tells us about the books that have inspired his own investigations
The Best Latin American Novels, recommended by John King
From magical realism to political upheaval, John King, Professor Emeritus at Warwick University, recommends five essential works of Latin American fiction – and reveals what Jorge Luis Borges was like in person.
