Until August — the final novel Gabriel Garcia Marquez was working on before he died — landed in bookstores this year on March 6th. The Columbian author passed away in 2014, after decades of stunning the world with magical realism — the literary device most associated with him and his iconic novel, 100 Years of Solitude.
Almost a decade later, Marquez’s sons have published his last novel, one he reportedly insisted should be destroyed.
Given his enduring popularity, his sons’ decision to publish his “lost novel” against his wishes makes sense. But that does not make it any less morally dubious, especially as it gathers negative reviews from readers and critics.
The Story of ‘Until August’
The tale of Until August focuses on Ana Magdalena Bach. Bach has been married to her husband for 27 years. On the surface, she has a happy marriage. But Bach has a secret that may ruin her life as she knows it.
She visits her mother’s grave on an unnamed Caribbean island every year. One such year, she finds a man who looks as alone as her and invites him to her bed. Since then, she seeks to repeat the experience with a different man every time she visits the island.
The novel revolves around these experiences, sometimes disillusioning and often unfulfilling. Interestingly, this is Marquez’s only work that centers around a female protagonist.
Do We Honor A Dead Man’s Rights?
Marquez finished work on the first draft of the work in 2004. Soon after, though, he realized he didn’t want it getting published. He held it for 10 years, purposely not continuing to rewrite and edit it, and made it clear to his sons that he believed the book didn’t work, and they should destroy it.
However, Gabo — as people affectionately called Marquez — had been battling dementia for a while when he worked on the book. In the published work, from Knopf, his sons insist that his mental condition made him unable to adequately judge his own work.
Marquez’s “fading facilities kept [him] from finishing the book; [and] also kept him from realizing how good it was.”
They say when they revisited the manuscript recently, they realized it was better than they had remembered. So with the best of intentions, “In an act of betrayal, we decide to put his readers’ pleasure ahead of all other consideration. If they are delighted, it’s possible Gabo might forgive us. In that we trust.” write his heirs, Rodrigo Garcia and Gonzalo Garcia Barcha.
Does the existence of the book pose an ethical dilemma? Is it okay to deny the creator’s wishes after they pass? Does his dementia provide a justification for their actions?
On Publishing Work Authors Didn’t Want to See the Light
While morally dubious, perhaps, one cannot entirely blame Marquez’s sons for their decision either. After all, Franz Kafka famously instructed his friend Max Brod to destroy his unpublished works, including The Castle, Amerika, and, more concerningly, The Trial.
Brod went against Kafka’s wishes after the author died in 1924 and published all of the works for the world’s perusal. Perhaps no one thinks it would have been better if he had torched the works.
What would the literary world even be without The Trial and The Metamorphosis? Of course, the latter wasn’t on the list of works the author wanted destroyed. Still, it was Brod’s decision to make the last of Kafka’s works available to the rest of the world that arguably pushed Kafka’s other works to the forefront.
One could even argue that the unfinished nature of his works adds to the intrigue. Indeed, it is the incompleteness and lack of resolution that keeps readers so hooked to his works a century after his death.
Despite the world welcoming their works — however incomplete — with open arms, authors throughout the ages have wanted their books destroyed after they passed. One could say that it is almost tradition at this point, and authors who hid away their works must have known they would be discovered and read at some point.
Legend has it that Virgil explicitly instructed his friends to burn the Aeneid because he had some qualms with “Book VIII”, and the poem was incomplete. His friends, of course, paid no heed to the man’s dying wishes. It’s why literature students and critics worldwide get to experience the epic tale of Aeneas today.
That said, Until August is no Aeneid or The Trial, and it has already received a fair amount of negative reviews since its release. It is not Marquez’s best work.But it is the final piece of a master and perhaps should be viewed as such, no matter how imperfect the work is.
Had Gabo’s sons followed his wishes, they would still be criticized. Fans and critics would have still questioned the decision; demanded… something. So, why not have a flawed piece, one that reflects Gabo’s failing mental resources, rather than none at all? The question is moot in this instance — one just hopes this final work doesn’t taint Marquez’s reputation for future readers.
This article was originally produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
