Current:Home > ScamsCritics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes -Blueprint Wealth Network
Critics slam posthumous Gabriel García Márquez book published by sons against his wishes
View
Date:2025-04-21 07:22:12
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! (16)
Related
- Sam Taylor
- Minnesota joins growing list of states counting inmates at home instead of prisons for redistricting
- Kentucky governor takes action on Juneteenth holiday and against discrimination based on hairstyles
- The ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag evolves from Revolutionary War symbol to banner of the far right
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Palestinians welcome EU nations' statehood vow as Israel hammers Gaza, killing a mother and her unborn child
- Khloe Kardashian Calls Out Mom Kris Jenner for Having Her Drive at 14 With Fake “Government License”
- Dogs help detect nearly 6 tons of meth hidden inside squash shipment in California
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Manhattan DA’s office won’t be punished for document dump that delayed start of Trump criminal trial
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Men's College World Series champions, year-by-year
- Rod Serling, veteran: 'Twilight Zone' creator's unearthed story examines human cost of war
- Long-term mortgage rates ease for third straight week, dipping to just below 7%
- Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
- Diaper maker will spend $418 million to expand its Georgia factory, hiring 600
- LMPD releases Scottie Scheffler incident arrest videos, dash-cam footage
- Birmingham-Southern baseball trying to keep on playing as school prepares to close
Recommendation
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
‘Heat dome’ leads to sweltering temperatures in Mexico, Central America and US South
Celine Dion Shares She Nearly Died Amid Battle With Stiff-Person Syndrome
Birmingham-Southern baseball trying to keep on playing as school prepares to close
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
Why Robert Downey Jr. Calls Chris Hemsworth the Second-Best Chris
The Try Guys’ Eugene Lee Yang Exits YouTube Group 2 Years After Ned Fulmer Scandal
Why Patrick Mahomes Wants Credit as Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s “Matchmaker”