". Arranged Words: A Tribute to Marquez

19 Apr 2014

A Tribute to Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As a tribute to Mr. Marquez and the joy and the love of reading that his books have given me, I am re-posting a post that I wrote last May called Spotlight on Marquez.

I remember reading, at the end of The General and His Labyrinth, a paragraph that I interpreted as the likes of such a man would never pass this way again, but, although, at this time, that's fitting, Marquez's words, in that last paragraph, are much more profound: they drift past boundaries and echo.

And so it is with regret and with gratitude that I re-post this post, because for or a short time the world was given the blessing of  Mr. Marquez whose words tumbled golden from the depths of a deep soul.

                                                         My well-thumbed loved copy.
At the time, the price of One Hundred Years of Solitude:  $2.95.

Glorious book jackets.
Several years ago, I bought One Hundred Years of Solitude in a wonderful shop somewhere in the wilds of Jasper National Park, Alberta. At the time, I'm not sure, given the annoyingly small print, my lack of a dictionary, and my grasping inexperience as a reader, what I gleaned from it, but I was vaguely aware that I had found a treasure. And luckily, although somewhat daunted by the novel and with eye strain, I pressed on. As I read, I did, however, find that One Hundred Years of Solitude more than lived up to its back cover promise of surprise. In fact, the book proved as amazing as the elk that sauntered around, on too tall legs, outside my rented cabin--close yet distant, understandable in form yet wildly mysterious.

Márquez's seamless ability to incorporate magic realism into his novels does surprise, delight and astound.  In One Hundred Years of Solitude, there is a focus on ice.  Nothing unusual--sans magic, but try to explain ice to someone who has never seen it. For example how would you explain ice to an individual from Amazonian Lost Tribe?  (And, yes, speaking of amazing things there are still a few tribes out there!) Could you describe ice so that they could understand? And, more importantly, if you put a piece of  ice in the person's hand, how would they react? What would they think?  In that context and in the context the novel, ice moves from the ordinary to the miraculous.


As you can see from the copies of Márquez's books that I have on hand, and others that I have read and do not own, One Hundred Years of Solitude did lead me to read more of Marquez's books. And Love In The Time of Cholera ranks as my all time favorite. The title draws and repels--hints of danger and uncertainty. Complex and unlike anything I've ever read, Love in the Time of Cholera is a wild love story and a great read.


Unfortunately, critics sometimes scoff at the use of magic realism, but perhaps they were born without curiosity, take themselves too seriously, or have forgotten the importance of a sense of wonder.                                 

I have never forgotten where I bought One Hundred Years of Solitude because Gabriel Márquez's intellect is, like the novels and stories he writes, nothing short of miraculous.

Quotes

"What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.”
Marquez


 “A true friend is the one who holds your hand and touches your heart.” Marquez

He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” Marquez
 
"I say extraordinary things in an ordinary tone. It's possible to get away with ANYTHING as long as you make it believable." Marquez

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