Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of an Artist and his beloved Colombia
Review: This superbly written portrait of an artist unlocks many mysteries. First and foremost it modestly explains the incredible genius of Gabriel Garcia Marquez the writer. Moreover, it also provides a probing insight to the bloody political violence inside the Republic of Colombia. "Living to Tell the Tale," is a great read for lovers of literature but also objectively gives students of Colombian political history an eye-witness account of a government that was savage with its people.In the words of Gabito..."I was brought up in the lawless space of the Caribbean,"...the Nobel laureate explains with pride the difference between "Costenos" (Colombians raised on the coast) and "Cachacos" (Colombians raised in Bogota). In some ways...it is comparable to the difference between very laid-back, open minded Californians and super-serious, ambitious New Yorkers. However, the essential point the author makes is the cultural mind-set he was raised with. A mind-set filled with surreal coastal dreams and the reality of the 1928 banana workers massacre in Cienaga which his loving Mother explained to him, "that's where the world ended." Gabito was born on March 6, 1927. He was heavily influenced by the sensitivities of his Mother and grandfather, Colonel Nicolas Ricardo Marques Mejia (called Papalelo by his grandchildren). The Colonel was a veteran of the Liberal/Conservative War of One Thousand Days (1899-1903). Consequently, the author learned from an early age that Colombia was a nation of many civil wars and that political differences inside the borders of his nation often ended in violence. Papaledo taught his devoted grandson that General Simon Bolivar (the George Washington of South America) "was the greatest man born in the history of the world." But Gabito is quick to inform the reader that he grew up with a formal education at the splendid Liceo Nacional de Zipaquira and grew up "bloodthirsty for Faulkner." He adds that he started smoking heavily at 15 (he eventually quits) and strongly appreciated the genius of "Ulysses" by James Joyce and "Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka. Interestingly enough the author credits journalism for his sharp "reporter's eye" and states, "the novel and journalism are children of the same mother." Still and all, the author is responsible and does not ignore the widespread "scorched earth policy of the government." In one of the most fascinating segments of this book he provides an eye-witness account of the April 9, 1948 murder of the beloved Colombian populist Jorge Eliecer Gaitan and vividly decribes the subsequent "Bogotazo" the greatest riot in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He also offers his own credible conspiracy theory that there was a well dressed man who incited the crowd after the murder of Gaitan and "the man managed to have a false assassin killed in order to protect the identity of the real one." Gabito also goes to extremes to document the heavy handed government censorship of the press afterwards. Ultimately, the author tells us, "life itself taught me that one of the most useful secrets for writing is to learn to read the hieroglyphs of reality without knocking or asking anything." This is a true masterpiece and deserves to be read by all lovers of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and of the Republic of Colombia. Highly, highly recommended. Bert Ruiz
Rating:
Summary: Another magical set
Review: We are living in a luminous time if we have a NEW Gabriel Garcia Marquez book to look forward to. His strenghts in storytelling are unrivalled in this century, and this book is one of a projected three that chronicle his life. That the book is written when he is a robust 70+ years old showcases his truly remarkable capacity for memory of events that happened 50, 60 years past. He dresses these events in his life up until they resemble short stories of their own. The massacre in Bogota is given an almost hallucinatory nature through Marquez's account and is quite surreal. The book ends with a proposal (nay, an ultimadum), to the girl that Marquez loves: I've just went to Europe, and if I don't receive a response to this letter in a month, I am staying forever. I cannot wait to read the next two editions.
I also feel rather bad for the people that don't "understand" this book or don't "get it." This book is not a ramble, it is a cohesive effort at chronicling a young man's long-ago past. It's just our luck that the man led an extraordinary life, that he is still here to tell it, and that his name is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Read it today.
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