Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies at 87

MagicCoppeliaMagicCoppelia Posts: 20,874
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Novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died at 87. Loved One hundred years of solitude.:(

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  • CLL DodgeCLL Dodge Posts: 115,627
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    Sad news.
  • RAINBOWGIRL22RAINBOWGIRL22 Posts: 24,459
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    Love in the time of Cholera is one of my top books.

    His books translated amazingly!

    It's sad but at his age not unexpected.
  • benjaminibenjamini Posts: 32,066
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    I posted in the book section. Not a single response. And only 3 here. That's so sad.
    I have read all his books. One hundred years of solitude is my favourite book of all time.
    But all his books were fascinating. I regret that I do not read Spanish tho they were sublime even translated.
  • oldhagoldhag Posts: 2,539
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    I waded through Cholera and Solitude. I had my reasons. Hated them both, boring and silly. Much sadder that Sue Townsend died aged only 68 and three quarters.
  • benjaminibenjamini Posts: 32,066
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    oldhag wrote: »
    I waded through Cholera and Solitude. I had my reasons. Hated them both, boring and silly. Much sadder that Sue Townsend died aged only 68 and three quarters.

    Her death was sad.
    I think her best selling book Adrian Mole sold 8 million. No mean feat.
    One hundred years of solitude 30 million. It's not a completion tho.:)
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    I read a fair bit and had never heard of this guy. Always a shame when a creative force leaves this world. At least their work lives on.
  • CravenHavenCravenHaven Posts: 13,953
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    oldhag wrote: »
    Much sadder that Sue Townsend died aged only 68 and three quarters.
    to be fair, I think Isabel in Macondo never measured her thing with a ruler
  • Trsvis_BickleTrsvis_Bickle Posts: 9,202
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    benjamini wrote: »
    I posted in the book section. Not a single response. And only 3 here. That's so sad.
    I have read all his books. One hundred years of solitude is my favourite book of all time.
    But all his books were fascinating. I regret that I do not read Spanish tho they were sublime even translated.

    Wait until J K Rowling carks it. I bet we'll have a thousand posts before lunchtime. Par for the course for this place, I'm afraid.

    Sad news indeed.
  • benjaminibenjamini Posts: 32,066
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    Wait until J K Rowling carks it. I bet we'll have a thousand posts before lunchtime. Par for the course for this place, I'm afraid.

    Sad news indeed.

    Philistines :D
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    Wait until J K Rowling carks it. I bet we'll have a thousand posts before lunchtime. Par for the course for this place, I'm afraid.

    Well of course. She produced a pop-culture phenomenon. Most people haven't heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As to who is the 'better' author, that depends on the criteria.
  • Trsvis_BickleTrsvis_Bickle Posts: 9,202
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    chaff wrote: »
    Well of course. She produced a pop-culture phenomenon. Most people haven't heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. As to who is the 'better' author, that depends on the criteria.

    No, it really doesn't. :p
  • SemieroticSemierotic Posts: 11,131
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    I'd be lying if I said I was a fan of his work - 100 Years of Solitude felt like it took about that long to read - but he was undoubtedly a literary giant and will be greatly missed.
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    No, it really doesn't. :p

    Of course it does. I'm not saying all art is equal, but in order to judge you need to set the criteria on which it's to be judged.
  • Trsvis_BickleTrsvis_Bickle Posts: 9,202
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    chaff wrote: »
    Of course it does. I'm not saying all art is equal, but in order to judge you need to set the criteria on which it's to be judged.

    Thank God for that. :D

    Unless the criteria are things like 'Who sold the most books' or 'Who had the most books turned into bad films', it's Marquez all the way, surely? ;-)
  • TeddybleadsTeddybleads Posts: 6,814
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    A master of magic realism and a hero in his home nation.

    I love his prose.think my favourite is the General In His Labyrinth but what's body of work.
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    Thank God for that. :D

    Unless the criteria are things like 'Who sold the most books' or 'Who had the most books turned into bad films', it's Marquez all the way, surely? ;-)

    You can compare authors in so many different ways: imaginative scope, descriptive prowess, plotting, use of metaphor, characterisation, target audience, etc. I think a better way to judge authors is to ask if they satisfy their intended audience. Take Dan Brown and EL James. Notoriously poor writers, but their books sell like hot cakes because they get the job done, as it were. Rowling's no Dostoyevsky, but the world she created captured the imagination of children and adults alike, and that's no mean feat.
  • alan29alan29 Posts: 34,612
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    chaff wrote: »
    You can compare authors in so many different ways: imaginative scope, descriptive prowess, plotting, use of metaphor, characterisation, target audience, etc. I think a better way to compare authors is to ask if they satisfy their intended audience. Take Dan Brown and EL James. Notoriously poor writers, but their books sell like hot cakes because they get the job done, as it were. Rowling's no Dostoyevsky, but the world she created captured the imagination of children and adults alike, and that's no mean feat.

    Best = most popular?
    Is that really what you mean?
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    alan29 wrote: »
    Best = most popular?
    Is that really what you mean?

    Notice that I called Dan Brown and EL James poor writers.

    I'm saying there are many ways to judge one author against another, and that, in my opinion, the best way to judge two completely different authors is to ask which of them best appealed to their target audience.
  • alan29alan29 Posts: 34,612
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    chaff wrote: »
    Notice that I called Dan Brown and EL James poor writers.

    I'm saying there are many ways to judge one author against another, and that, in my opinion, the best way to judge two completely different authors is to ask which of them best appealed to their target audience.

    No, I will stick with quality of writing.
  • chaffchaff Posts: 985
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    alan29 wrote: »
    No, I will stick with quality of writing.

    If one writer is technically bad but writes lively and engaging stories, and another writer is technically good but is dull and uninspiring, who is the better writer?
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