El delicioso dominio del idioma y el profundo sentido poético de que Mutis hace gala con maestría sin igual, serían suficientes para motivar a los pocos que todavía no lo hayan leído. Si a esto le sumamos el encanto innegable del Gaviero y esa sensibilidad tan suya por todos aquellos que se mueven por los bordes esquivos de la fortuna y que nos pone la carne de gallina, cuando nos dejamos llevar de la mano sabia de Mutis por todos esos parajes de una salvaje belleza o de un sórdido atractivo, no nos quedará ninguna duda de que tenemos en nuestras manos el pensamiento, la poesía y la sensibilidad de un gigante de las letras latinoamericanas. Motivo de justificadísimo orgullo para todos aquellos que tenemos la fortuna de compartir, con él, la patria.

I discovered the Adventures of Maqroll on the discount table outside my neighborhood bookstore. After reading the first few pages I was hooked. Mutis is one of those rare authors who, in a few words, can take you inside the soul of a character. He creates men and women who desire and seek out the perfect something that they know is out there, somewhere, in the next port or just over the horizon. Mutis can make you feel their experience as he describes it. I find parallels with John Steinbeck in the work of Alvaro Mutis. Both writers created characters outside the mainstream who, nontheless, appeal to us as human beings. Both find beauty and excitement as clearly in rusty iron as in a pair of enticing eyes. The Adventures of Maqroll is a 20th century quest that will be appreciated by anyone who admires the self-directed life.

This book is in the top 10 of my lifetime reading list. A mix of Conrad and Don Quijote. the first paragraph of "Amirbar" is stunning.

Out of print already? Don't we read foreign authors or translations?

It's very hard to put this book down. Mutis resembles no one writing today, his prose is immaculate and his stories indescribable. He is one of a kind. This is a treasure; one only wishes there were more.

This may be the most beautifully written, wise, and fun book I have ever read. Maqroll is the perfect companion: he goes everywhere, knows many remarkable and delightful people in every spot, and speaks with wisdom, joy, and sadness all at once.
Each sentence is a gem: taken together, they create a world that transports the reader into a world of adventure, danger, love, friendship, and insight.
Imagine Cervantes mixed with Pynchon, with a little Groucho Marx thrown in: this is a work to savor and Maqroll is a wise and loving guide to a world of breath-taking beauty, where each day holds new treasures.
This is the closest thing to a perfect book I have come across. It is a true classic, as readers of Spanish literature have known for some years.

READ THIS BOOK! If Dylan and Pablo Neruda collaborated, this would be the result. Lyrical, funny, heartbreaking stories set around the fringes of cities and backwater towns. Do these places even exist anymore? There is a homeric quality to the stories that transforms the flotsome and jetsome lives of the charaters. I cannot say it enought, READ THIS BOOK

La Nieve del Almirante es una pequeña novela que hace reflexionar sobre el sentido de la vida. La vida está llena de peligrosos, amenazas y sorpresas inesperadas (como lo son el río y la selva). Lo que quiere Maqroll es llegar a unos aserraderos y comprar madera. Se trata de la búsqueda de un bien material. Pero, poco a poco, pierde interés en el negocio y finalmente entiende que lo que está buscando de verdad, lo dejó en "La Nieve del Almirante" : el amor, el entendimiento y la estabilidad encarnados por Flor Estévez, una mujer salvaje. Por desgracia, cuando regresa al único lugar donde puede encontrar la paz, lo único que encuentra es un edificio derrumbado.

En general, los hombres no saben disfrutar de la vida y del presente. Quieren siempre cada vez más. ¿ Para qué ? Suelen olvidar que la vida es fugaz y frágil. Consejo a todas las personas que aún no lo entienden que lean esta pequeña novela porque va a enseñarlas una buena lección...

Throughout the history of literature writers have been able to create some inmmortal, universal characters. Alvaro Mutis' creation by the name of "Maqroll" is certainly one of them. There is something of "Don Quijote" in him, an ability to transcend daily futility of life into something that touches the depths of human nature.

This book is one amongst several written by Alvaro Mutis, in which he gently narrates the adventures of "Maqroll," his search for the meaning of life and the unavoidable reality that lies at the horizon: death. Life poses the necessity of risk in order to give meaning to existence, of staying outside conventionalism. Alvaro Mutis and "Maqroll" coexist, and just like "Don Quijote," "Maqroll" knows that Mutis writes about him. "Maqroll" knows it is impossible to reach order out of chaos so life for him is a continuous errand in search of his true self, not because he feels a messianic call but for his intimate conviction that he belongs nowhere. "Maqroll" is a hero in a world in which there is no point of reference, where space and time have lost their meaning.

The poetry and prose of Alvaro Mutis have a touch of surrealism, a need to journey through the labyrinths of time (just like J.L.Borges). A fantastic writer, with a unique sensitivity, and an illusory, gentle way of touching the core of our thoughts. The nomination of Alvaro Mutis as winner of "Premio Cervantes - 2002" rightly represents the recognintion of this great Colombian writer.

Upon reading this book I was thrust into the intricate web of life of the Gaviero. His wandering soul delves in and out of reality, dreams, and memories of places past and present. One is forced to tag along and actually feel empathy for our unlikely hero as he crosses the globe time and time again finding love and danger in the unlikeliest places and ultimately surrenders himself to fate.

No termino de comprender la obsesión, el amor que el narrador desarrolla por el barco protagonista. La prosa, estupenda, la narrativa, de primera clase, pero la motivación o las razones por las que el narrador se enamora del barco se me escapan. A lo mejor es que soy muy obtusa...