Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (also known as Gabo in Latin America) was a brilliant Colombian writer with the most translated Spanish-language publications. His most well-known works are his novels like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, but many forget his time as a journalist, his acclaimed non-fiction works, and of course, the genius of his various short stories. Marquez's Collected Stories is a beautifully written/translated compilation of 26 short stories. These include his more recognizable pieces like "Eyes of a Blue Dog" and "The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" as well as other excellent publications.

My personal favorite(s) of this collection come straight off page one. The first story, "The Third Resignation", links with the second story called "The Other Side of Death" to create a macabre conversation about the veil dividing life and death. In "The Third Resignation" the reader is in the mind of the main character, a man trapped in his own body perceiving the world around him. "It has been some time since the doctor had said to his mother, dryly:" Madam, your child has a grave illness: he is dead. Nevertheless," he went on, "we shall do everything possible to keep him alive beyond death…""(5). As alluded to by the title, "The Other Side of Death" crosses back into the land of the living to the perspective of the trapped man's twin. We then follow the developing existential crisis upon seeing his "dead self" in his coffin. It is so smart, so vivid in detail, regardless of the small scope, and has me both envious and in awe of his work.

For me, these emotions resonate in most, if not all, of the stories of this collection. Every read-through blows me away. I actually have two physical copies: one a marked-up and falling-apart sentimental favorite, and one a clean copy for future re-reads. These stories are diverse, ranging from commentaries on death to finding soulmates in dreams, even keeping angels in chicken coops, and all delivered with the magical realism style that Gabo has perfected. Collected Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez gives every reader a slice of literature worthy of his legacy as a Nobel Prize Winner for Literature.