Current:Home > NewsCritics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes -ProfitEdge
Critics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes
View
Date:2025-04-25 19:35:05
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! (8)
Related
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Hospitals have specialists on call for lots of diseases — but not addiction. Why not?
- How Life Will Change for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis After the Coronation
- Hospitals have specialists on call for lots of diseases — but not addiction. Why not?
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- California’s Methane Leak Passes 100 Days, and Other Sobering Numbers
- A boil-water notice has been lifted in Jackson, Miss., after nearly 7 weeks
- Film and TV actors set up strike at end of June, potentially crippling entertainment industry
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Even in California, Oil Drilling Waste May Be Spurring Earthquakes
Ranking
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- Wehrum Resigns from EPA, Leaving Climate Rule Rollbacks in His Wake
- New 988 mental health crisis line sees jump in calls and texts during first month
- The clock is ticking for U.N. goals to end poverty — and it doesn't look promising
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Rollercoasters, Snapchat and Remembering Anna NicoIe Smith: Inside Dannielynn Birkhead's Normal World
- In the Philippines, Largest Polluters Face Investigation for Climate Damage
- New Federal Gas Storage Regulations Likely to Mimic Industry’s Guidelines
Recommendation
'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
Daily 'breath training' can work as well as medicine to reduce high blood pressure
Algae Blooms Fed by Farm Flooding Add to Midwest’s Climate Woes
4 ways to make your workout actually fun, according to behavioral scientists
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
Family Dollar recalls Colgate products that were improperly stored
New York City air becomes some of the worst in the world as Canada wildfire smoke blows in
Katy Perry Upgrades Her California Gurl Style at King Charles III’s Coronation