Until August

by Gabriel García Márquez

Sitting alone beside the languorous blue waters of the lagoon, Ana Magdalena Bach contemplates the men at the hotel bar. She has been happily married for twenty-seven years and has no reason to escape the life she has made with her husband and children. And yet, every August, she travels by ferry here to the island where her mother is buried, and for one night takes a new lover.
     
Across sultry Caribbean evenings full of salsa and boleros, lotharios and conmen, Ana journeys further each year into the hinterland of her desire and the fear hidden in her heart.
     
Constantly surprising, joyously sensual, Until August is a profound meditation on freedom, regret, self-transformation, and the mysteries of love.

Paperback

About the author

Gabriel José de la Concordia Garcí­a Márquez was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garcí­a Márquez, familiarly known as "Gabo" in his native country, was considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

He studied at the University of Bogotá and later worked as a reporter for the Colombian newspaper El Espectador and as a foreign correspondent in Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Caracas, and New York. He wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best-known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success, most notably for popularizing a literary style labeled as magical realism, which uses magical elements and events in order to explain real experiences. Some of his works are set in a fictional village called Macondo, and most of them express the theme of solitude.

Having previously written shorter fiction and screenplays, García Márquez sequestered himself away in his Mexico City home for an extended period of time to complete his novel Cien años de soledad, or One Hundred Years of Solitude, published in 1967. The author drew international acclaim for the work, which ultimately sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. García Márquez is credited with helping introduce an array of readers to magical realism, a genre that combines more conventional storytelling forms with vivid, layers of fantasy.

Another one of his novels, El amor en los tiempos del cólera (1985), or Love in the Time of Cholera, drew a large global audience as well. The work was partially based on his parents' courtship and was adapted into a 2007 film starring Javier Bardem. García Márquez wrote seven novels during his life, with additional titles that include El general en su laberinto (1989), or The General in His Labyrinth, and Del amor y otros demonios (1994), or Of Love and Other Demons.

(Arabic: جابرييل جارسيا ماركيز) (Hebrew: גבריאל גארסיה מרקס) (Ukrainian: Ґабріель Ґарсія Маркес) (Belarussian: Габрыель Гарсія Маркес) (Russian: Габриэль Гарсия Маркес)

Reviews

[Creedling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the plot twists ✨

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t help but wish this book was longer, however, Ana Magdalena Bach felt very real so ticks for that, esp at the start and at guy 4 & 5

[Kevin Kindred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for completionists, probably not really necessary.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short book, Marquez uses so few words to immerse you in the characters world. It’s a collection of short stories based around protagonist Ana Bach, who travels every august to a Caribbean island to place flowers on the grave of her mother, spending a night away from her family and engaging in extra marital affairs.

It’s a quick read at just over a hundred pages, there is an ending despite being unfinished, although the ending is open to interpretation. It presents a woman and her sexuality from the perspective of a male writer, some times I think he gets a bit too caught up in Ana’s pert breasts rather than presenting the views of Ana. But the complicated relationship of Ana and her mother come across well, her mother despite being barely characterised seems a background presence throughout and comes up in the behaviour and consciousness of her daughter.

There is a lot left untold in this story, so you will have to fill in some of the blanks yourself, but it’s an enjoyable read, worth the short time spent.

[Iliyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabo’s wonderfully moving last novel is a poignant examination of the sweet, solemn storms within the human heart.

The text has a gorgeously quiet, ephemeral quality that makes you recognise Gabo’s unmistakeable penchant for emotional veracity instantly.

Yes, the novel was published posthumously against Gabo’s wishes. Yes, as his sons themselves have said, it is a betrayal. Yes, the prose might not be perfectly polished, there may be inconsistencies, but why should that make it less of an achievement?

If anything, the book is alive. It’s imperfect and therefore very human. It is different and therefore beautiful. It is all the more special knowing that, constrained by his progressing dementia, though having started writing it decades before, Garcia Marquéz could no longer work on developing the plot. It remained unfinished forever.

Despite it all, it’s a wonderful little tribute to a towering legacy that, despite all the criticism toward this imperfect novel, will move you and inspire you.

[Konstancja Siewierska · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no denying this was written by a man as I found myself almost giving up two pages in at the mention of Ana’s breasts - but I’m glad I pushed through. Understandably, the book leaves you with many blanks due to its unfinished nature but it is nonetheless an accurate meditation on love, sexuality, freedom, and familial predetermination. This book was gifted to me by my best friend and is actually the first book I’ve read from this author which, looking into things more, I realise is very random. Definitely not a must read but I can see how it could bring comfort in a time of need - I look forward to reading his other works.

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about women Ana Magdalena... her ritual to visit her mother's graveyard every year with a bouquet of Gladioli (Crown lily) followed by another ritual... finding new partner... secret ritual of lost love, desire... you left with why she did that, mystique, how it make sense in the end... lingering several questions... at one point she mentioned - she was furious... how unfortunate of being a woman in man's world

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

started this book as part of my book club, appreciated the story and how it was written, i liked that it looked back over her previous encounters and how her experiences had changed how she was,

i liked the part when she had seen the moustache man and how she kept hoping to see him to show how disrespectful he was to her

kind of hoped it would explain who the man leaving the flowers was

but all over though was an easy read

[Remiyah Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy and interesting read that has you guessing the intentions of the character and wondering if she even knows herself.

I definitely feel like the short length of the book helped to not make it drag too much, and enjoyed the repetitive theme of the island.

Still a little confused by the ending... but a good one anyway!

[Kirstin Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book in a charity shop and read it in one sitting. I enjoyed the fast pace but as it was posthumously published without much preening it comes across as abrupt, undeveloped and lacking a clear message. Enjoyable nevertheless.

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true Gabito. Reading it felt like meeting an old friend, who takes you back into the world of wonderful words without time continuum. Not like other posthumous publications, it is a short sweet memory of one of the worlds greatest writers.

[Rebecca Askew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in one sitting. Compelling enough and I liked the snapshot into an aging woman’s life, needs and contradictions.

[kika! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I support Ana Magdalena’s rights and wrongs