Nobel-winning Columbian novelist and short story writer Gabriel García Márquez, considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, is in news again - eight years after he passed away. As per a report by a British daily national newspaper, Márquez had an extramarital affair with Mexican writer Susana Cato in the 1990s and had a daughter with her who was named Indira, after the former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. The report also states that Márquez admired Ms. Gandhi, who was the first person to congratulate him when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. It was a Colombian newspaper - El Universal - that first reported the story on January 16. The Associated Press then confirmed it with two relatives of Márquez. The daughter, Indira Cato, now in her 30s, has been living with her mother’s surname and is a documentary producer in Mexico City.
Since Márquez is in news again - for whatever good or bad reasons - there is no way his brilliant works could be left out. Here are six short and amazing stories by him you need to read.
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (1955):
A great work of magic realism, the story involves the eponymous character who appears in a family's backyard on a stormy night. What follows are the reactions of the family, a town, and outside visitors. In the Christian tradition, angels are often represented as beautiful winged figures, and Márquez plays off of this cultural symbolism in the story because, ironically, the wings of the “angel” in the story convey only a sense of age and disease.
No One Writes to the Colonel (1961):
Set in Colombia during a time of strict martial law and censorship in the early 1900s, it tells the poignant tale of a retired war veteran now spending his days in poverty. This colonel survived the Thousand Days' War and eagerly awaits his pension, so he can spend his retirement comfortably. This pension was promised to him a long fifteen years prior, but there is still no sign of it.
Death Constant Beyond Love (1970) :
The story centers on Senator Onésimo Sanchez, who travels on his routine reelection campaign knowing that he has “six months and eleven days to go before his death”. While depicting the vulnerability and helplessness of a human being, the story presents a host of themes that include death, misery, seclusion, and inability.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) :
This 71-page novella is one of Márquez's most famous works. It tells, in the form of a pseudo-journalistic reconstruction, the story of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the Vicario twins. The central question at the core of the novella is how the death of Santiago Nasar was widely foreseen - "there had never been a death more foretold," as the narrator describes - yet no one was able or willing to stop it. It explores the morality of the village's collective responsibility in the murder of Santiago Nasar.
The Autumn of the Patriarch (1976) :
It is divided into six sections, each one retelling a similar story of a Caribbean dictator and his hold on power until the inevitable revolution comes for him. Marquez based the fictional dictator on many real-world figures, including Colombian dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla and Spain’s Generalissimo Francisco Franco.
Eyes of a Blue Dog (1972) :
The plot follows the relationship between a man and a woman, but the setting is not at all what might be expected. The relationship takes place solely in the dream world; both people meet and interact while dreaming, never able to connect in their waking lives.
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