"This long-awaited biography provides a fascinating and comprehensive picture of García Márquez's life up to the publication of his classic 100 Years of Solitude."@en
"Esta aproximación biográfica, escrita con un estilo diáfano, informado y apasionante, tiene un objectivo principal: explicar cómo Gabriel García Márquez, con destreza casi mágica, creó Cien años de soledad. Ilan Stavans examina las fuerzas sociales, políticas, económicas e intelectuales que lo definieron, y la manera en que Macondo - y la familia Buendía como eje de rotación - se configuró como una realidad propia."
"This long awaited biography provides a fascinating and comprehensive picture of Garcia Marquez's life up to the publication of his classic 100 Years of Solitude. Based on nearly a decade of research, this biographical study sheds new light on the life and works of the Nobel Laureate, father of magical realism, and bestselling author in the history of the Spanish language. As Garcia Marquez's impact endures on well into his ninth decade, the biographer's keen insights constitute the definitive re-appraisal of the literary giant's life and corpus. The later part of his life will be covered in a second book."