Description

The son of one of the greatest writers of our time-Nobel Prize winner and internationally best-selling icon Gabriel Garcia Marquez-remembers his beloved father and mother in this tender memoir about love and loss.

“I find myself remembering that my father used to say that everyone has three lives: the public, the private, and the secret.”

On a weekday morning in March 2014, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century, came down with a cold.

In this intimate and honest account on grief and death, Rodrigo Garcia not only contemplates his father’s mortality and remarkable humanity, but also his mother’s tremendous charm and tenderness. Mercedes Barcha, Gabo’s constant companion and creative muse, was one of the foremost influences on his life and art.

A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes is a revelatory portrait of a family coping with loss and a rich depiction of a son’s love.

Publisher Review

'a powerfully written memoir...Garcia Marquez maintained that his novels were inspired not by magic but by reality. His son's memoir shows that, when it comes to his father's life, it is impossible to separate the two.' Daniel Rey, Spectator 'Rodrigo Garcia finds the words that cannot be said, the moments that signal all that is possible to know about the passage from life to death, from what love brings and the loss it leaves. With details as rich as any giant biography, you will find yourself grieving as you read, grateful for the profound art that remains a part of our cultural heritage' Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author of Down the River Unto the Sea 'You read this short memoir with a feeling of deep gratitude. Yes, it is a moving homage by a son to his extraordinary parents, but also much more: it is a revelation of the hidden corners of a fascinating life. A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes is generous, unsentimental and wise.' -Juan Gabriel Vasquez, author of The Sound of Things Falling 'Garcia's limpid prose gazes calmly at death, registering pain but not being overcome by it ... the result is a moving eulogy that will captivate fans of the literary lion' Publishers Weekly "A warm homage filled with both fond and painful memories." Kirkus 'This is a beautiful farewell to two extraordinary people. It enthralled and moved me, and it will move and enthrall anyone who has ever entered the glorious literary world of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' Salman Rushdie