Recommendation for first Gabriel Garcia Marquez read

[Oliver]

Hi all, I'm just wondering what people would recommend would be the best Gabriel Garcia Marquez book to read first, for someone who has never read any of his work?

Thanks!

[Stuart]

I think 100 years of solitude is his best work, so you might as well start there. I also like "Nobody Writes to the Coronel" and "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," but those aren't written in the magical realism style he is known for.

[Jan]

It doesn't get better than Cien Años de Soledad.

[Judy]

I'd vote for 100 years of Solitude, with Love in the Time of Cholera as a close second...but then there's Coronel and and and .....You can't go wrong with Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[Stuart]

Judy wrote: "I'd vote for 100 years of Solitude, with Love in the Time of Cholera as a close second...but then there's Coronel and and and .....You can't go wrong with Gabriel Garcia Marquez"

I thought Cholera was splendid in all the ways his books are splendid, particularly characterization and the sense of whimsy, but the ending didn't work for me at all, and he completely dropped the original focus of the book's opening (the St. Amor character) without, as I recall, much explanation. This made it sort of a disappointing read for me. (My wife loved the ending)

Always a personal decision, but that's why I rank 100 years higher.

[Oliver]

Thanks a lot for the comments. I decided to go for "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" because I thought it would be an easier introduction. Looking forward to read the others in the future!

[Stuart]

Have fun! As a person who has spent about 30 years traveling and doing business in South America, I always felt like Chronicle encapsulates that feeling you get down there of "Wow! They have all these resources and there's so many great people. Why do they keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again?"

I know it's off-topic, but I highly recommend Jorge Luis Borges' "The Book of Sand."

[Claudia]

I've read 100 years of solitude in Spanish and English and in various combinations. The translation is so true that you can start a chapter in one language and pick it up in the other without missing a beat. Enjoy Chronicles, it will stay with you!

And if we're going off topic, Hopscotch by Cortazar. :)