Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87 • Hacker News Board

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#41

Post by ch4s3 » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 10:32 PM UTC

gone35 wrote: post #21

ch4s3 wrote: post #11

And now we may never know why Mario Vargas Llosa punched him in the face.

Well we kind of know some details at least[1]: Mario strayed. He fell in love with a beautiful Swedish air stewardess whom he met while travelling. He left his wife and moved to Stockholm. Distraught, his wife Patricia went to see her husband's best friend, Gabriel. After discussing the matter with his wife, Mercedes, he advised Patricia to divorce Mario. And then he consoled her. No one else quite knows what form th…

I actually asked Llosa about it when he spoke at my college about seven years ago. His reply was something along the line of, "I don't talk about that."

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#42

Post by pizza » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 10:41 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #36

igravious wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your, “Many years later [...]" and raise you, “It was the day my grandmother exploded." Iain Banks, The Crow Road.

Not as good. Merely goes for the surprise element. The other quote also: 1) gives more plot information (the hero is an older man, sentenced to death), 2) beautifully evokes his nostalgia before death (remembering an event from his childhood) 3) AND builds suspense: He is at the moment in front of the firing squad. Will he die? Get a pardon? Somehow be resqued?

I think another opener that's at least as good is "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know" (even though this is misleading w/o the whole context..)

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#43

Post by ramses » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 10:48 PM UTC

rjtavares wrote: post #7

“Many years later, in front of the firing squad, colonel Aureliano Buendía would remember that distant afternoon his father took him to see ice." Best opening line of a book ever. RIP.

That line, that one opening line. Once I read it, it was instantly etched into my brain.

I read the book in Spanish. It was the first magic realism book that I read, and also the first book authored by Márquez that I read. I had no idea what the book was about, but that opening line hooked me, and I could not put down the book afterwards.

Unsurprisingly, I tried to read everything else written by Márquez :-)

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#44

Post by mc32 » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 10:57 PM UTC

guelo wrote: post #28

purplebutterfly wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to be pedantic, but the Rabassa translation reads: "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

"Muchos años después, frente al pelotón de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendía habría de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padre lo llevó a conocer el hielo." I think rjtavares' quote is more faithful. Except for "conocer", it should be "know ice" or maybe "know about ice", not "see" or "discover". But the thing about translating poetic literature is that the translator also needs to be a poet.

I think "see ice for the first time" might work.

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#45

Post by deckardt » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:04 PM UTC

This is one of the reasons I keep reading Hacker News. It's a great source for cutting-edge tech news; more importantly, it's also a great source for important news.

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#46

Post by lemma » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:08 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #36

igravious wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your, “Many years later [...]" and raise you, “It was the day my grandmother exploded." Iain Banks, The Crow Road.

Not as good. Merely goes for the surprise element. The other quote also: 1) gives more plot information (the hero is an older man, sentenced to death), 2) beautifully evokes his nostalgia before death (remembering an event from his childhood) 3) AND builds suspense: He is at the moment in front of the firing squad. Will he die? Get a pardon? Somehow be resqued?

To expand on #3: the "present" in the sentence isn't even taking place before the firing squad, that's "many years later". It places the reader in a timeless moment.

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#47

Post by gcv » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:08 PM UTC

noname123 wrote: post #20

OT but tangential any magical realism authors to read? So far, I got Marquez, Jorge Louis Borges and Murakami. And preferably recommendation should be good to provide philosophical consolation to a code monkey worker-bee in the capitalist society.

Try Guy Gavriel Kay. He is generally considered a fantasy writer, but I'd say "alternative-historical magical realism" is a more accurate description. I see a lot of more recent Rushdie in his style. Start with Under Heaven (Tigana is the more common first recommendation, but I don't actually like it as much).

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#48

Post by igravious » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:11 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #36

igravious wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see your, “Many years later [...]" and raise you, “It was the day my grandmother exploded." Iain Banks, The Crow Road.

Not as good. Merely goes for the surprise element. The other quote also: 1) gives more plot information (the hero is an older man, sentenced to death), 2) beautifully evokes his nostalgia before death (remembering an event from his childhood) 3) AND builds suspense: He is at the moment in front of the firing squad. Will he die? Get a pardon? Somehow be resqued?

I was being provocative. I agree with you :) I wonder is there an anthology of first-lines?

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#49

Post by igravious » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:12 PM UTC

simonsarris wrote: post #38

igravious wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go on so. I'll bite. First favourite author? (If we can even rate and rank so crudely.)

I sorta regret writing that in retrospect because its a somewhat reply-bait thing to write. But I was thinking of Bohumil Hrabal as my most dear author. In some respects they are very different, in that Hrabal doesn't quite have the same magical realism bent. But in their writing itself, in their structure, they are often similar: Hrabal also favors extremely long sentences. Hrabal's book Dancing Lessons for the Adva…

Thoughtful response. An unknown to me. Thanks. Will start digging.

Re: Gabriel García Márquez, Literary Pioneer, Dies at 87

#50

Post by igravious » Thu, Apr 17, 2014, 11:13 PM UTC

pizza wrote: post #42

coldtea wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not as good. Merely goes for the surprise element. The other quote also: 1) gives more plot information (the hero is an older man, sentenced to death), 2) beautifully evokes his nostalgia before death (remembering an event from his childhood) 3) AND builds suspense: He is at the moment in front of the firing squad. Will he die? Get a pardon? Somehow be resqued?

I think another opener that's at least as good is "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know" (even though this is misleading w/o the whole context..)

Camus? The Outsider?