Current:Home > StocksCritics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes -InfiniteWealth
Critics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes
View
Date:2025-04-13 14:27:48
Gabriel García Márquez has a posthumous book coming out 10 years after his death. But he wouldn't have ́aMáwanted it that way.
García Márquez's final book "Until August" is set for release on March 12, but the author explicitly told his sons he didn't want the work published.
"He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed," the author's younger son Gonzalo García Barcha told The New York Times. His eldest son, Rodrigo García, said his dad "lost the ability to judge the book."
In the New York Times piece, the brothers say they helped publish "Until August" because it lifts the veil on a new side to their father, who centered the book around a female protagonist for the first time. However, García told the outlet that he and his brother "were worried of course to be seen as simply greedy."
"Until August" follows a happily married woman Ana Magdalena Bach, who travels every August by a ferry to an island where her mom is buried to find another love for just one night.
Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist
García Márquez, one of the most popular Spanish-language writers ever, died in 2014 in Mexico City at the age of 87. His book "100 Years of Solitude" sold over 50 million copies, which is a mammoth feat in the literary world.
Author Gabriel García Márquez diesat 87
Oprah Winfrey chose his books twice for her original book club, "100 Years of Solitude" in 2004 and "Love in the Time of Cholera" in 2007, a rare occurrence for the media mogul.
It seems that his new work won't receive the same fate. Critics are slamming "Until August," which spans just 144 pages, in early reviews.
Harsh reviews for Gabriel García Márquez's new book: 'a faded souvenir'
"Until August" has yielded harsh reactions from several publications.
In a review of the book for British outlet i News, author Max Lui wrote, "The story ends so abruptly that it is obvious that it is unfinished" and called out the author's family and publishers for disrespecting his wishes.
"Usually, in a review of an underwhelming posthumous publication or minor work by a major author, it is worth saying that, despite its flaws, it will delight devoted fans. I do not believe that is true of 'Until August.' Márquez knew this and was right not to want it to see the light of day," Liu wrote.
Lucy Hughes-Hallett called the Latin American author's last novel was "not good writing" and "like a faded souvenir" for The Guardian.
"So should it have been published? There are small errors of continuity. The structure is ungainly. More importantly, the prose is often dismayingly banal, its syntax imprecise," she wrote.
While writer David Mills in a review for The Times agreed with similar critiques, he seemed to enjoy the book.
"Yet, for all these faults, 'Until August' is recognizably a Garcia Marquez novel: inventively enjoyable and working to its surprising, pleasing ending. I read it straight through in one sitting, then got up the next day and did it again," Mills wrote.
veryGood! (92)
Related
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Soothe Sore Muscles With These Post-Workout Recovery Tools
- West Virginia GOP Senate president, doctor who opposed drawing back vaccine laws ousted in election
- GameStop, AMC stock booming after Roaring Kitty's return. Will Trump Media stock follow?
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- The PGA Tour needs Rory McIlroy at his best, especially now
- Rob McElhenney Shares Why He Believes Friend Ryan Reynolds Isn't Human
- This Week’s Landmark Transmission Rule Forces Utilities to Take the Long View
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Dallas Mavericks push top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to brink with big Game 5 road win
Ranking
- Small twin
- Ex-Augusta National worker admits to stealing more than $5 million in Masters merchandise, including Arnold Palmer's green jacket
- Air quality in several US states threatened by growing Canada wildfires: See map
- What to know about a bus crash that killed 8 Mexican farmworkers in Florida
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Kansas governor cites competition concerns while vetoing measure for school gun-detection technology
- How fatherhood inspired John Krasinski's latest movie, IF
- Soldier killed in non-combat training accident was 23-year-old Virginia man
Recommendation
The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
Pro-Palestinian protesters place fake bloody corpses at home of University of Michigan official
What to know about a bus crash that killed 8 Mexican farmworkers in Florida
2024 NFL schedule release videos: See the video from every team
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Takeaways from the AP’s investigation into how US prisoners are hurt or killed on the job
Honda recall: Over 187,000 Honda Ridgeline trucks recalled over rearview camera issue
Idaho inmate pleads guilty to escaping hospital after correctional officers are attacked