Vivir para Contarla

Filed in archive Latin Books on November 4, 2006

On November the 2nd, I celebrated 14 years as a couple (14 años de novios), with this wonderful man that has been my husband for almost 10 years. Yes, we had our first kiss on Dia los Muertos - well, our first kiss as a couple, since we had kissed two days before - but that's a story I'll tell you some other time.

My story today is about the thoughtful gift I've got from him: the book "Vivir para Contarla" (Living To Tell The Tale), an autobiography by Gabriel García Márquez. I'm a compulsive reader, and this gift was so sweet!

I've been in love with García's writing since high-school, when I first read his short story "La Siesta del Martes". In time, my favorite would become the internationally famous "Cien Años de Soledad" (One Hundred Years of Solitude), the melancholic saga of the Buendia family. I've traveled across the city of Macondo many times, trough the magical pages of this book. Every time I finished reading it, I've missed the vivid characters and the strange, unusual places of this superb narrative.

Now, I'm fascinated with his autobiography. It's written with the same enchanting style as his fiction books; and the events described are so singular and peculiar, that it's hard to tell what's reality and what's fantasy. Right there, in the mix of real/unreal possibilities, lies the charm of the book. In the first page, García himself says:

"La vida no es la que uno vivió, sino la que uno recuerda y cómo la recuerda para contarla" (Life isn't the one you lived, but the one you remember, and how you remember it, in order to tell it.)

I cannot recommend this book (or any of his books) strongly enough. If you're interested in Latin culture - and I know you are - you must read Gabriel García Marquéz. If you enjoy reading good books, you should read his work, too. You'll be delighted, I promise. I ask you just one thing: try to read it in Spanish. A translated version isn't quit the same. That said, enjoy!