MOSCOW, March 6 Gabriel García Márquez’s unpublished novel “See You in August,” unpublished during his lifetime, was published in Russia on the author’s birthday, March 6. In it, the Colombian writer returns to the style of his first works, and also touches on a new theme in his work, the press service of the AST publishing house reported.
«Gabriel García Márquez's latest novel, 'See You in August,' is published in Russia at the same time as the whole world — on March 6, the writer's birthday. On this day, Márquez would have turned 97 years old,» the message says.
The publishing house noted that in Russia the book is published simultaneously with publications in Spanish and English in other countries, which rarely happens: previously, in the Neoclassic edition of the AST publishing house, the Russian release coincided with the world release when the novels “Fire and Blood” by George R.R. were released. Martin and Dan Brown's Origin. Cooperation between AST and the literary agency Carmen Balcells, which also owns the rights to books by Mario Vargas Llosa and Julio Cortazar, helped Russian publishers prepare the book in time for the world premiere. The starting circulation of the new product in Russia was 15 thousand copies, which is several times higher than the average circulation on the book market.
Marquez worked on the text of “See You in August” in the last years of his life, but the novel had never been published before, the publishing house emphasized. Due to health reasons, the writer did not have time to finish working on it and refused to publish the text, considering it imperfect. Ten years after Márquez's death, his sons Rodrigo and Gonzalo García Barcha decided against their father's wishes to publish his last work.
The translator of the book, candidate of philological sciences Daria Sinitsyna, noted that there is no incompleteness in the text of the novel. “This is a story with a beginning and an end and with internal logic. And some temporary inconsistencies are really present there. And these are most likely the consequences of the fragmentation that remained after the death of the author. But it can be perceived as the usual appeal to cyclical time for García Márquez,” — she shared, her words are quoted by the publisher.
The translator also emphasized the restraint of Marquez’s latest work in comparison with the great novels. However, it also contains Garciamarquez’s signature chains of metaphors, strung on top of each other, difficult for the Russian language.
“This is a return to the style of “Nobody Writes to the Colonel” approximately. Not 100 percent, but in a sense. The new theme is the life of a woman in her heyday. And relationships with her mother. And in general with everything that surrounds her. And especially relationship with death,” said Sinitsyna.
According to her, touching the manuscript was both terribly interesting and at the same time scary: Marquez’s last lifetime text somewhat disappointed her. However, several fragments and characters in the new manuscript captivated her and convinced her to take on the translation. “This is a good story. I’m sure this book will resonate quite strongly with many people,” she concluded.
The paper version from the publishing house AST Neoclassic will appear in all bookstores in the country, and the electronic version and audio are released exclusively on the Yandex Plus Bookmate book service, the publishing house noted. The audio version was voiced by Igor Knyazev, a reader of books by Kazuo Ishiguro, Liu Cixin, Alexandra Marinina, Victor Pelevin and other authors.
March 6, 12:24