In March 2014, Gabriel Garcìa Márquez, one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century, came down with a cold. The woman who had been beside him for more than fifty years, his wife Mercedes Barcha, was not hopeful; her husband, affectionately known as "Gabo," was then nearly 87 and battling dementia. I don't think we'll get out of this one, she told their son Rodrigo.
Hearing his mother's words, Rodrigo wondered, "Is this how the end begins?" To make sense of events as they unfolded, he began to write the story of Garcìa Márquez's final days. The result is this intimate and honest account that not only contemplates his father's mortality but reveals his remarkable humanity.
Both an illuminating memoir and a heartbreaking work of reportage, A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes transforms this towering genius from literary creator to protagonist, and paints a rich and revelatory portrait of a family coping with loss. At its centre is a man at his most vulnerable, whose wry humour shines even as his lucidity wanes. Gabo savours affection and attention from those in his orbit, but wrestles with what he will lose-and what is already lost. Throughout his final journey is the charismatic Mercedes, his constant companion and the creative muse who was one of the foremost influences on Gabo's life and his art.
Bittersweet and insightful, surprising and powerful, A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes celebrates the formidable legacy of Rodrigo's parents, offering an unprecedented look at the private family life of a literary giant. It is at once a gift to Gabriel Garcìa Márquez's readers worldwide, and a grand tribute from a writer who knew him well.
ISBN: | 9780008487898 |
Publication date: | 5th August 2021 |
Author: | Rodrigo García |
Publisher: | HarperVia an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
Format: | Hardback |
Pagination: | 80 pages |
Genres: |
Memoirs Autobiography: writers Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000 Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers Narrative theme: Love and relationships Narrative theme: Death, grief, loss Reportage, journalism or collected columns Local and family history, nostalgia |