This book deals with "the big picture". I got a sense of viewing customs through time. The many cultures shown are contrasted in an exciting way. Stunning photographs showing rituals surrounding birth, death, marriage, etc. are accompanied by intelligent, inspiring copy. A beautiful and thought provoking book.

Con "Diatriba" se tiene otra maravillosa obra de Garcia Marquez. Es impresionante como puede un autor escribir desde el punto de vista femenino y hacer toda una reclamacion con los argumentos de una mujer, pero con vision masculina. "Diatriba" nos muestra de nuevo la versatilidad de Garcia Marquez quien no nada mas nos describe fantasias e irrealidades. En "Diatriba" se describen situaciones actuales, reales, pero con la riqueza del lenguaje que caracteriza a Garcia Marquez. Imposible empezar a leer este monologo sin terminarlo, sin saber la causa de tanto reclamo. Excelente libro. Lo he leido varias veces y en cada una de ellas he descubierto nuevos detalles y nuevos sentimientos. Otra vez Garcia Marquez nos deleita con esta obra. La recomiendo.

I'm an avid fan of Garcia Marquez; I've read almost all of his books and I had never heard of "Diatriba de amor contra un hombre sentado" until a couple of years ago.

In this book (the english translation is something like "complaint of love to a seated man"), Garcia Marquez writes a monologue of a woman, complaining to her husband about the lives they've lived and her frustration. I was amazed to see how well Garcia Marquez could write from a woman's perspective.

The book is very short and enjoyable. Unfortunately, the only copy of the book I've seen was in my university's library. I've tried for a long time to find this book on a bookstore, but have been unsuccessful. If you see this book and you're a fan of Garcia Marquez, don't hesitate to buy it! It's a really good short story and you'll enjoy it!

Get to know "Gabo" through his own words as he converses with his old friend Plinio. I found "El Olor de la Guayaba" beneficial in helping me understand the author's view of his own books, including the popular and Nobel Prize-winning "Cien Años de Soledad"/"One Hundred Years of Solitude." García Márquez explains how this novel is thoroughly based in Caribbean reality, not "magic." In addition, "El Olor de la Guayaba" provides valuable and interesting biographical and personal information, plus some great photos. García Márquez is a brilliant, witty, and humanistic soul, and this little book fully shows off his character.

Garcia-Marquez dictator combines within himself, the best and the worst, of the human being when invested with absolute power: from charity to corruption, benevolence to rape, fear of God to extreme cruelty. The (sparse) punctuation follows an almost strict fitting of the Poisson statistical distribution, page by page, and then amongst chapters, constituting this into both a textbook in literature and statistics. To some of us the most masterful novel of the Master Novelist of Meridian America.

No creo que exista otro escritor colombiano o extranjero capaz de plasmar en un libro la esencia de un pueblo tan diverso, complicado y rico, tanto espiritualmente como materialmente. Cada vez que lo leo me duele el corazon y me conmueve hasta las lagrimas, pues Gabriel Garcia Marquez describe con palabras lo que en realidad somos y sentimos.

The book allowed me to understand the complexity of the plot in One Hundred Years of Solitude. It also provided me with enough historical background information for understanding the short stories within the book. My favorite, however, was the chapter on Love in the Time of Cholera. I fully recommend this book for the reader of Garcia Marquez who lacks the background knowledge on Latin American issues.

i would like to have by email : the handsomest drowned man in the world, the norton antology of contemporary fiction E D. r.v cassill, W.W Norton new york 1988

Just picked this up and am already planning to assign it to one of my classes on modern lit--that ideal book that explains what Marquez is up to without either oversimplifying or overcomplicating. Fahy distills the most important material from research around Marquez without forcing us to wade through information that would only be of interest to someone writing a dissertation; furthermore, his voice is lively and approachable in doing so. This book is enjoyable reading suited to a wide audience--I hope to see more similar books in this vein.

Gene H. Bell-Villada won me over in the first few pages of "García Márquez: The Man and His Works" when he wrote, "to this day I have not forgotten the sheer excitement I felt on first reading Cien años de soledad in 1968, and my utter bedazzlement on reaching its concluding paragraph. Since then the idea of writing on the great South American author for his North American devotees has been one small dream of mine."

To that end, Bell-Villada, a professor of romance languages at Williams College does not disappoint. This comprehensive and engaging book is a well-written study of García Márquez and his work. The research in this two-part book is meticulous. Part one is background on Colombia, the writer's life and his politics. Part two is a stimulating history of Macondo and a strong examination of the works. Both parts are filled with valuable information that helps explain Colombia and its long history of violence.

Bell-Villada is a good teacher. He patiently goes into great detail describing the expert use of fantasy, humor and satire. He also examines literary technique and structure in a simplistic fashion. The bottom line of this beautiful book is that it enhances the understanding, appreciation, and respect of the work of Gabriel García Márquez...the greatest living novelist in the world.