Gabriel García Márquez’s final novel is being published by his son a decade after his death

It has been ten years since the renowned novelist Gabriel García Márquez passed away, yet his final literary creation is now being unveiled. Although the author himself would have objected to its release, his sons have taken the decision to publish the novel titled Until August.

At the time of his demise in 2014, the Nobel Prize-winning writer was engrossed in crafting his book Until August. Márquez had been grappling with dementia in the years preceding his passing and had made attempts to produce at least five iterations of the narrative, ultimately electing to abandon the project altogether.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, his son Gonzalo García Barcha disclosed, “He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed.” However, Gonzalo, alongside his elder brother Rodrigo García, opted to disregard their father’s directive and bring his final opus to light. Gonzalo further divulged that Márquez had been ardently engaged in drafting Until August, even dispatching a draft to his literary agent. Yet, owing to his dementia, he ultimately shelved the notion of publishing the book.

“Gabo lost the ability to judge the book,” Rodrigo remarked to the Times. “He was no longer able to even follow the plot, probably.” Upon revisiting the manuscript themselves, the brothers found it to be “much better than we remembered.”

Acknowledging that their decision might be perceived as “greedy,” the brothers believe that the novel will enrich their father’s literary legacy, representing his inaugural venture into a narrative centered around a female protagonist.

Until August, Gabriel García Márquez’s swansong, will unfold the intimate chronicle of Ana Magdalena Bach, a woman in her late forties who annually embarks on a pilgrimage to a Caribbean island to visit her mother’s gravesite. These excursions serve as periods of self-discovery, affording her temporary liberation from the constraints of her marriage and family, thereby instigating a series of clandestine liaisons.

Gabriel García Márquez, affectionately known as Gabo, hailed from Colombia and garnered renown as one of the preeminent writers of the twentieth century. He left an indelible mark on literature with six novels, notably the revered classic One Hundred Years of Solitude, in addition to seven non-fiction works, along with a plethora of novellas and short stories. Until August is scheduled for release on March 12th.