Vivir para contarla

Gabriel García Márquez's first volume of memoirs, Vivir para contarla (Barcelona: Mondadori, 2002) is as vivid as one of his novels, taking him from his birth in 1927 to his first departure to Europe in 1955 -- 12 years before the appearance of the book that made his international reputation, One Hundred Years of Solitude. This was a period of intense violence in Colombia and of enormous growth for the young writer. For a longer note (in Spanish), see my Pequeña biblioteca comentada. For my 1987 "critical analysis" of One Hundred Years of Solitude, with a bio of Gabito (García Márquez), take a look at my Monarch Note.