Soledad y compañía is an oral biography of Gabriel García Márquez's life told through the voices dozens of people who knew him at different times in his life. Through these voices, a sort of written conversation unfolds, revolving around a single topic: the Colombian Nobel Prize winner's life and development as a writer, journalist, family member, and friend. His troubles before he became rich and famous and everything that came after, once his name became known around the world.

RIGHTS: spanish PLANETA | english SEVEN STORIES PRESS | english & spanish audio RECORDED BOOKS | polish VIS A VIS ETIUDA | russian MANN IVANOV FERBER | portuguese (brazil) PLANETA | serbian VULKAN

READ AN EXCERPT:

María Luisa Elio: Have you been out on the streets with him? The girls throw themselves at him. It must be annoying … García Márquez’s phenomenon is very special. He has great charisma.

Alberto Fuguet: To read García Márquez at a certain age can be very harmful, and I would forbid it. It can spoil you forever. García Márquez is a software that you install and then can’t get rid of.

Santiago Mutis: The entire world understands [One Hundred Years of Solitude] because it is an epic, a bible. It tells the story of life itself from beginning to end—a human version, with a very Colombian truth. It is life as it is lived here. Colombia is a magical country; the people believe in that. When you go to a market fair in Villa de Leyva, the people spray the truck with holy water so that it won’t fall off the road. I think this is what happened with Gabo: the nation had an oral tradition, and that oral tradition started to get closed in a bit; the cities began taking on an important role. When the pop culture threatened—to stop being oral—Gabo was there to pick it up. It starts to pass into literature; he senses it, starts to refine it—it’s his parents, his family, his land, his friends, it’s everything. Pop culture is the mother and father of art—that is Gabo.

Ramon Illán Bacca: Well, everyone cooks with parsley, but there’s always one cook who takes it to an artistic level. Right? His genius lies in that.

Juancho Jinete: I will never forget when Gabito came and stayed at Álvaro’s house, and Juan Gossaín—who is the big cheese in Colombian journalism today—was also at the house. Gabo hugged me and said, “These are my childhood friends.” Then Juan Gossaín told Gabito, “Maestro, let me interview you.” Gabito said to him, “What kind of a journalist are you? What more do you want? You have the story right in your hands. Get it!” It was true—you didn’t have to ask any questions … Gabito told him, “What more do you want? This is my friend here since we were children. There’s your story.”

BY SILVANA PATERNOSTRO:

Soledad & compañía
NONFICTION, 2014/2024
My Colombian War
MEMOIR, 2005
In the Land of God and Man
NONFICTION, 2000