“En agosto nos vemos”: The Unpublished Novel by Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez is one of the most significant figures in the history of contemporary literature. He is a central exponent of the Latin American boom and magical realism. The work of this Colombian has been read and avidly analyzed worldwide. His bibliography includes titles such as "Love in the Time of Cholera," "No One Writes to the Colonel," and "One Hundred Years of Solitude," considered one of the most influential novels of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 "for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the real are combined in a world richly composed of imagination, reflecting the life and conflicts of a continent," according to what he expressed. The committee of said literary recognition.

In 2014, at 87, he passed away in Mexico. Now, close to a decade after his death, it was revealed that an unpublished work by the author will see the light. This was indicated by the Random House label in a statement stating that in 2024 they will publish in all Spanish-speaking countries, except Mexico, the novel "En agosto nos vemos."

The Arrival of "En agosto nos vemos"

The novel will go on sale simultaneously in print, electronic books, and audiobooks in the world's main languages. Its editors consider this the most significant literary event of the coming year.

"En agosto nos vemos" resulted from a last-ditch effort to continue creating against all odds. Reading it once more, almost ten years after his death, we discovered that the text had many highly enjoyable merits and nothing that prevented us from enjoying it. The most outstanding of Gabo's work: his capacity for invention, the poetry of language, the captivating narrative, his understanding of the human being and his affection for his experiences and his misadventures, especially in love, possibly the central theme of all his work", declared Rodrigo and Gonzalo García Barcha, sons of the writer.

The novel is part of the personal archive of Gabriel García Márquez acquired by the University of Texas. Original manuscripts of ten books, more than 2,000 pieces of correspondence, and drafts of the 1982 Nobel Prize-winning speech are part of this collection.

This work comes 20 years after the last published novel by Gabriel García Márquez, "Memories of My Melancholy Whores", which went on sale in 2004.

Also read: García Márquez surpasses Cervantes in translations. What other authors follow you on the ladder?

A Reunion with Macondo

It seems that 2024 will be a year of celebration for the work and legacy of Gabriel García Márquez, not only because of the publication of a new novel by this author but also because the first authorized audiovisual adaptation of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is expected to be released that same year. It is a series whose production is carried out by Netflix. It will be in Spanish and will be filmed mainly in Colombia.

A first production preview has already been published. In this, the construction of the town of Macondo is simulated, as well as various elements that will be part of the universe in which the series will be framed. All this while a voice-over recites multiple phrases from the novel.

As directors will be the Argentine Alex García López ("The Witcher," "Utopia") and the Colombian Laura Mora ("Killing Jesus", "The kings of the world"). They are responsible for the script José Rivera ("Motorcycle Diaries"), Natalia Santa ("The Robbery of the Century"), Camila Brugés ("Green Frontier"), Albatros González ("Lynch"), with the advice of María Camila Arias ("The kings of the world"). For now, no details about the cast will give life to the Buendías or the other characters in the story.

"For decades, our father was reluctant to give up the film rights to "One Hundred Years of Solitude" because he believed it was impossible to make it under the time constraints of a film and thought that producing it in a language other than Spanish would not do it justice. But in today's golden age of series—with the level of talented writers and directors, the cinematic quality, and the great global reception of foreign-language content— the timing couldn't be better to bring an adaptation to Netflix's global audiences. We are very excited to support Netflix and the creators in this project and eager to see the final product," the writer's children declared in 2019 when they reached an agreement with the streaming platform.

On the other hand, this 2023, The Cervantes Institute declared Gabriel García Márquez as the most translated writer from Spanish during the 21st century, surpassing Miguel de Cervantes. This is based on the data provided by the "Map of World Translation" the institute presented at the XI International Congress of the Spanish Language in Cádiz in March.

So it is that despite the death of Gabriel García Márquez almost a decade ago, the interest generated by his work does not cease. On the contrary, over the years, more and more people are getting closer to the rich and wonderful literary universe created by one of the most essential pens in modern literature.