El General en su Laberinto. [The General in His Labyrinth].

MARQUEZ, Gabriel Garcia.

$4,000.00

Item Number: 133247

Mexico: Editorial Diana, 1989.

First edition of this “fascinating tour de force and a moving tribute to an extraordinary man” (Margaret Atwood, New York Times Book Review). Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 1990 with a drawing of a flower, “Una flor Para Juana, y un abrazo para Sergio en L.A. Gabo 90.” The recipient, Sergio Muñoz Bata and his wife Juana, were close friends of Marquez. They met in 1964 in Mexico City in the home of author Carlos Fuentes, who often hosted a literary open house or “salon” on Sundays. At the time, Marquez was largely unknown to the literary world and still a “starving artist.” Even after his fame, however, Marquez remained very down-to-earth, and the men stayed close friends for over 50 years. When Muñoz Bata moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970’s, they continued to get together regularly with their wives after Marquez purchased a home there.  Sergio Muñoz Bata writes a weekly syndicated column published in 18 newspapers across 11 countries in the hemisphere. He is also both a former Los Angeles Times editorial board member and Executive Editor of La Opinión. In near fine condition. An exceptional association.

Simon Bolívar, known in six Latin American countries as the Liberator, is one of the most revered heroes of the western hemisphere; in García Márquez’s brilliant reimagining he is magnificently flawed as well. The novel follows Bolívar as he takes his final journey in 1830 down the Magdalena River toward the sea, revisiting the scenes of his former glory and lamenting his lost dream of an alliance of American nations. Forced from power, dogged by assassins, and prematurely aged and wasted by a fatal illness, the General is still a remarkably vital and mercurial man. He seems to remain alive by the sheer force of will that led him to so many victories in the battlefields and love affairs of his past. As he wanders in the labyrinth of his failing powers–and still-powerful memories–he defies his impending death until the last. “Passage after passage shines with the brilliance of García Márquez…He has invented some of the magic characters of our age. His General, however, is not only magic, but real" (The Wall Street Journal).