Gabriel García Márquez - King of Magical Realism

by Songül Arslan

For years I have been putting off reading something by Márquez. First I told myself I should learn Spanish so I could read the books in their original language. When I gave up on that idea, I still put it off by telling myself I needed to find a big chunk of time to read all of his writings in a row. Eventually I realized I was just plain putting it off. There was always something else I could read or do, but his name kept lingering in my subconscious and it was just a matter of time until I did something about it.

Gabriel García Márquez; writer, poet, and journalist; was born on March 6, 1928 in Aracataca, Colombia. His grandparents raised him because in his earlier years his parents did not have the means to support him. As a part of his upbringing, he heard many tales of his grandparent's adventures and superstitions. His grandfather had helped to found the village of Aracataca and was revered as a kind of local hero. To Márquez, his grandfather--who was rumored to have once killed a man--must have been a walking source of inspiration for intriguing stories. His grandmother had no less influence on him with her tales about the supernatural things she fervently believed in. Both of them planted the seeds that would germinate within Márquez's mind into great works of literature. Márquez himself has said, "I feel that all my writing has been about the experiences of the time I spent with my grandparents."

In addition to his grandparents, Márquez was influenced by a number of great thinkers and writers. Notable are Franz Kafka, who mixed the unimaginable with reality, William Faulkner, and Sophocles. During his early career Márquez was sent off to Rome as a correspondent and he took the liberty of wandering in Europe for a time, an undertaking that broadened his horizons even further.

His breakthrough came with One Hundred Years of Solitude, published in 1967. This is probably his most famous book, a magical story about a mysterious place called Macondo and a family called Buendía (which has much in common with Márquez's own family). The book tells of their trials and tribulations against a backdrop of Colombian politics, an important subject for Márquez. (*For a review of this novel, please see the current All Booked Up column.)

I just finished reading Love and Other Demons, which is an excellent read, especially since it leaves you with a feeling of wanting more. A rather thin book, it revolves around a young girl named Sierva María, who is suspected of having contracted rabies. She is sent to a convent-like institution by her father, ostensibly to recover, but she is more a prisoner there than a convalescent. In the institution Sierva María is believed to be possessed and a young priest named Cayetano Delaura is asked to exorcise her demons. Somehow this priest falls in love with her in such a fervent way that he feels as though he is haunted by demons. A love affair like theirs can never continue and in the end Sierva María dies of a broken heart because she and her priest are not able to see each other.

The wonder of this book is that Márquez leaves you wondering about a lot of things. Is the girl truly infected with rabies? Is she really haunted by demons? Is it all an act?

Márquez has learned well from examples like Kafka, and the way he weaves incredible, supernatural, fantastic elements into his writing makes the reader believe what he writes: even without having seen the things he writes about, they seem familiar in a strange, inexplicable way. I have never before read a writer who masters magical realism this way, though Isabel Allende comes close. Also, I detect a strong but subtle conviction in his writing that people are in essence passionate and capable of a burning, all-consuming love.

It is no wonder that Márquez has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He has written famed works of fiction and non-fiction, numerous essays and his autobiography. Well-known works of his are No One Writes to the Colonel, Love in the Time of Cholera, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and The General in His Labyrinth. I could go on and on about this writer, but instead I would rather read his books.

Now that I have tasted one of Márquez's books, I am hungry for more. There is no excuse anymore; it does not matter in what language I read it, the voice stays the same. Nor do I need a large chunk of time since he has thinner books which can be finished in one breath and believe me, leave you--like me--asking for more. After having gotten my feet wet, I actually regret not having started reading his books sooner.