Absolutely fantastic review. I just read this book and was blown away. Wanted to watch a video about someone explaining the context and what Marquez said about it.
Thank you so much, Feroz! 😃 This really is a mind-blowing novel, and GGM talked quite a bit about it, especially in the book The Scent of Guava, which gathers conversations with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza and provides some wonderful insight. Have an excellent day, my friend, and happy reading!
Marquez himself has confessed that unlike several of his great contemporaries, the political was not his primary concern and that it affected him only when it was such a big public concern that nobody could afford to ignore it anymore. As such, The Autumn … is definitely a novel that stands out in his oeuvre, adding to the great ‘dictator’ novel tradition of the Boom…. thank you for discussing the novel in detail… 🙏
Excellent point, Fazal! 😃 That's another difference with Asturias' El Señor Presidente, which is clearly a political novel. Gabo's novel is primarily psychological, both in relation to the individual and the collective character. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a wonderful weekend!
I am planning to travel throughout Central and Latin America in my semi-retirement, as, fortunately, it is now possible to work in many fields online. To that end, I am learning Spanish, reading history and trying to explore the literature of the continent. Your channel is just what I have been looking for: an introduction to the greats of Latin Am lit. I have been caught out several times buying novels based on RUclips recommendations and been thoroughly disappointed. Not this time though, I believe. Many thanks.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, my friend! 😃 What a fascinating adventure, to travel, learn languages, and immerse ourselves in cultures and literatures other than our own. I'm so happy to hear you have found this channel helpful in your journey! There will be much more to come on Latin American literature. Thanks again, have a wonderful day, and happy reading!
Definitely his best novel. Personally, I think his talent is best revealed in his short stories, especially The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother, and his Strange Pilgrim tales, specifically The Saint, I Sell My Dreams, and I Only Came to Use the Phone. Patriarch, like you said, is certainly more concentrated. But what makes it such an accomplishment is how the author masters the baroque style. For a long time, I’d have said Carpentier was the genius in that department but Marquez’ Patriarch rivals Carpentier’s best examples. And a daring novel too. Usually it is often the case such topics are reduced to satire or parody, even horror, or merely addresses the idea in a peripheral, foreboding manner. The uniqueness of Patriarch is also due to being set in the “Autumn” of his reign. That is something even more rare and daring, since we are often either being revealed the origins or the desperate last act or most often the turning point in the dictator’s reign. And lastly, Marquez’ Autumn of the Patriarch does the precise opposite of nearly every other novel that has dealt with this topic. All this and more, is why it truly is his masterpiece. In Latin American literature, I hate when people say magical realism, it’s fantasy, and not the “fantasy” of the likes of Tolkien, Herbert, Jordan, Martin, Sanderson, etc. The fantasy we see so popular today does the exact opposite of those historically known as the fantasy tale. Where Tolkien and Jordan and so on make their stories very logical (history, sociology, language, etc.) but completely abandon all reality, the classical fantasy instead kept the reality but threw away the logic. George MacDonald, Borges, Bioy, Ocampo, Bradbury, Bierce, Poe, are the ones I feel hold on to that classical fantasy story formula. The fantasy we’re most familiar and bombarded with today follow more precisely the epic and mythological traditions than fantasy. Which is why it’s such a mystery to me as to why certain stories from Marquez like the ones I mentioned above are considered “magical realism”, when it’s just Latin American fantasy, same with Borges or even certain stories from Cortázar. No need to make it exotic. Sadly, Latin American literature seems to have followed Gordimer’s assertion of being obsessed with the politics and the corruption. Literature reduced to journalism and essays. The stories told back then by the authors aforementioned were far more wide and varied than now. And even when addressing the politics and corruption was done with such creativity compared to now. Anyways, I always appreciate reviews of oft-neglected masterpieces.
Brilliant reflections, my friend! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I agree with you on so many levels. García Márquez's stories definitely deserve more attention. Everything that is great about him can be found in them, and I'm happy you mentioned Strange Pilgrims, a collection that is usually overlooked. Eréndira is, of course, a masterpiece. This novel might well represent the epitome of Latin American baroque style. I love both Carpentier and García Márquez, but I don't know, there's just something about Gabo... He seems to be closer to the "general reader" (whatever that means), especially in this novel. (I'm thinking of what he said about The Autumn of the Patriarch being his most "popular" novel.) Your comments on fantasy are magnificent. I was reminded of Jaime Alazraki's theory of the neo-fantastic, which I encountered ages ago while working on an essay for one of my classes. I wish I could remember the details... I will see if I can find my notes. This type of fantasy was particularly popular in the Río de la Plata region, but it was not exclusive to it, as we can see by some writings by Gabo, Rulfo, Fuentes, and so many others. I think the main danger for critics is (as you suggest) to fall into the exoticization of Latin America (and other cultures, of course). This may well be one of the main reasons why so many readers have come to dislike or at least to be wary of "magical realism" (as a thing and/or as a label). You're absolutely right about Gordimer's comment too; as unfair as it may have been back in the late 70s and early 80s (when that particular interview was conducted, in two parts), today's panorama is quite another story. The politicization of literature... "cuestión compleja," as Piglia might have said. Thank you once again, my friend, and have a fantastic weekend!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Stephen! 😃 Please let me know what you think of Gabo's great novel. Have an amazing day, my friend, and happy reading!
I never thought Spanish - American literature was just novels about vicious dictators. The "dictator novel" was a genre I found after reading a lot of poetry (Neruda, Paz, Ruben Dario) and Borges. Also nonfiction like Neruda's Memoirs, Llosa's Flaubert book, and the essays of Borges and Sabato. And Clarice Lispector. As a native of the U.S., I can say at least Central and South America has literature of politics, where the ruling classes is examined. All we ever had was Gore Vidal and Ward Just. They were great novelists, but they are gone.
Hello Donald! 😃 Latin American poetry is simply mind-blowing, especially the poets you mention. I'll do something on Paz, hopefully soon. I've been meaning to read Vargas Llosa's book on Flaubert for a long time. Something tells me the writer in me needs to read it. We need a volume of Sabato's collected essays in English. They were quite influential for me, especially the collection El escritor y sus fantasmas. You're absolutely right: we do have a great tradition of political literature in Latin America, and I noticed the contrast when I began to explore US literature, when I moved here. I must read Gore Vidal and Ward Just. So many authors deserve to be read. Thank you once again for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a wonderful day!
Hi Jorge.Thanks for the interesting discussion of one of Garcia Marquez's most neglected books.Although the lengthy sentences seem intimidating at first,you soon get used to the style which seems to draw the reader closer to the main character's macabre world.I know the dictator novel is often seen as a typical Latin American subject and I thought of Pinochet in particular when I read it but of course there are many more dictators in other parts of the world ,particularly Africa but I don't know enough about African literzture to know if there is a connection there.But I must re read this novel,so thanks again and have a great weekend.
Hello Richard! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I too was intimidated years ago when I opened this book and saw a block of text, but what a mesmerizing style it is. As you point out, this is an unfortunately universal topic, and I think a large part of the novel's success lies in the fact that, because the figure at the center is a composite, any dictator can be "read into" this figure of the patriarch. Hope you enjoy the rereading experience, my friend. Have a wonderful weekend!
African literature has great legacy that can be considered as part of Dictator/ Dictatorship novels. Ahmadou Kourouma’s Waiting for the Wild Beast to Vote, Nuruddin Farah’s Variations on the Theme of Dictatorship Trilogy and Nguni wa Thiong’o’s The Wizard of the Crow are the most important ones I have read…. Also, Naguib Mehouz’s Children of Gabelawi can be considered as one of the genre…
I loved that book ! And yes, exactly : it felt like being carried down a tumultuous torrent. I was mostly struck by the impotence, the powerlessness coming to the character with old age. Also his paranoia, because he knows he’s become too feeble to cling to the top position.
You are absolutely right, my friend! 😃 We associate dictators with power; this novel explores the other side of the coin, the side that one rarely sees. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and have an amazing day!
I'm now interested to read this, thanks. I have to wonder if "Massacre River" by Rene Philoctete was influenced by this as you discussed it, a book I read for Haiti and very much enjoyed.... What I often think of is how the dictator, king, emperor is really the default form of rule rather than the exception in human history. What seems really special about these so called "dictator novels" is that they caricaturize rather than mythologize, humanize rather than "endiosar" the dictator, which separates it from epics of kings of the past. They are radical and strangely optimistic in their belief in a new world, a new paradigm where the ruler can now be seen as a clown, or a puppet of his own masochism and sadism as you put it. We'll see how my ideas on this hold up when I get to "Yo El Supremo" and "El Señor Presidente". Maybe I can sneak this one in and discuss it in those videos.
You should definitely check it out, Mike! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I'm not familiar with Massacre River, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was an influence. If not, I wouldn't be surprised either: García Márquez really nailed the figure of the dictator, to the point that (as I mention in another comment here) almost any totalitarian ruler can be "read into" his patriarca. You're so right about the contrast with the classical epics. This speaks volumes about the development of the general perception of the ruler. I think El Señor Presidente is, of these novels, the one that is closer to mythologizing (or at least to drawing a parallel with mythology, which is not always the same thing). That may be another reason why Gabo considered it to be "una novela pésima." I personally enjoyed it, but that's just my opinion. Have an amazing weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
Awesome video, Jorge. I also listened to the one on Soseki. The one I have read by him was Sanshiro (which was delicious). Are you on other social media. Best, J
Thank you so much, Jeff! 😃 Soseki is amazing, and Sanshiro is my favorite. I liked it even better than Kokoro, I Am a Cat, and... well, Kusamakura may be just as good, but in a different way. I hope to do another video on Soseki one of these days. RUclips is the only social media that I use regularly. I've never used Instagram, for example; sometimes I feel like trying it, but there is the issue of time, haha. I'll let you know if I ever open an account. Thanks again for watching and commenting, my friend, and have an amazing day!
Also Jorge, if you could please tell me about one recurring theme in Marquez's books, he seems to be fascinated by relationships of older men with extremely young women. Do you think this was a representation of some of the powerful men he knew, or his own relationships?
That is a great point! This fascination can be seen especially in the novel Of Love and Other Demons and in the novella Memories of My Melancholy Whores, both of them later works in his corpus. I would relate it more to the issue of power, as you mention, that to his personal life. It could also be analyzed in the context of machismo and its cultural implications (so, at the end of the day, still mainly the issue of power). Hope this helps, my friend! Have a wonderful day, and thanks again! 😃
Absolutely fantastic review. I just read this book and was blown away. Wanted to watch a video about someone explaining the context and what Marquez said about it.
Thank you so much, Feroz! 😃 This really is a mind-blowing novel, and GGM talked quite a bit about it, especially in the book The Scent of Guava, which gathers conversations with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza and provides some wonderful insight. Have an excellent day, my friend, and happy reading!
Marquez himself has confessed that unlike several of his great contemporaries, the political was not his primary concern and that it affected him only when it was such a big public concern that nobody could afford to ignore it anymore. As such, The Autumn … is definitely a novel that stands out in his oeuvre, adding to the great ‘dictator’ novel tradition of the Boom…. thank you for discussing the novel in detail… 🙏
Excellent point, Fazal! 😃 That's another difference with Asturias' El Señor Presidente, which is clearly a political novel. Gabo's novel is primarily psychological, both in relation to the individual and the collective character. Thank you for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a wonderful weekend!
@@JorgesCorner ❤️
I am planning to travel throughout Central and Latin America in my semi-retirement, as, fortunately, it is now possible to work in many fields online. To that end, I am learning Spanish, reading history and trying to explore the literature of the continent. Your channel is just what I have been looking for: an introduction to the greats of Latin Am lit. I have been caught out several times buying novels based on RUclips recommendations and been thoroughly disappointed. Not this time though, I believe. Many thanks.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, my friend! 😃 What a fascinating adventure, to travel, learn languages, and immerse ourselves in cultures and literatures other than our own. I'm so happy to hear you have found this channel helpful in your journey! There will be much more to come on Latin American literature. Thanks again, have a wonderful day, and happy reading!
@@JorgesCorner 😃
Definitely his best novel. Personally, I think his talent is best revealed in his short stories, especially The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother, and his Strange Pilgrim tales, specifically The Saint, I Sell My Dreams, and I Only Came to Use the Phone.
Patriarch, like you said, is certainly more concentrated. But what makes it such an accomplishment is how the author masters the baroque style. For a long time, I’d have said Carpentier was the genius in that department but Marquez’ Patriarch rivals Carpentier’s best examples. And a daring novel too. Usually it is often the case such topics are reduced to satire or parody, even horror, or merely addresses the idea in a peripheral, foreboding manner. The uniqueness of Patriarch is also due to being set in the “Autumn” of his reign. That is something even more rare and daring, since we are often either being revealed the origins or the desperate last act or most often the turning point in the dictator’s reign. And lastly, Marquez’ Autumn of the Patriarch does the precise opposite of nearly every other novel that has dealt with this topic. All this and more, is why it truly is his masterpiece.
In Latin American literature, I hate when people say magical realism, it’s fantasy, and not the “fantasy” of the likes of Tolkien, Herbert, Jordan, Martin, Sanderson, etc.
The fantasy we see so popular today does the exact opposite of those historically known as the fantasy tale. Where Tolkien and Jordan and so on make their stories very logical (history, sociology, language, etc.) but completely abandon all reality, the classical fantasy instead kept the reality but threw away the logic. George MacDonald, Borges, Bioy, Ocampo, Bradbury, Bierce, Poe, are the ones I feel hold on to that classical fantasy story formula. The fantasy we’re most familiar and bombarded with today follow more precisely the epic and mythological traditions than fantasy. Which is why it’s such a mystery to me as to why certain stories from Marquez like the ones I mentioned above are considered “magical realism”, when it’s just Latin American fantasy, same with Borges or even certain stories from Cortázar. No need to make it exotic.
Sadly, Latin American literature seems to have followed Gordimer’s assertion of being obsessed with the politics and the corruption. Literature reduced to journalism and essays. The stories told back then by the authors aforementioned were far more wide and varied than now. And even when addressing the politics and corruption was done with such creativity compared to now.
Anyways, I always appreciate reviews of oft-neglected masterpieces.
Brilliant reflections, my friend! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I agree with you on so many levels. García Márquez's stories definitely deserve more attention. Everything that is great about him can be found in them, and I'm happy you mentioned Strange Pilgrims, a collection that is usually overlooked. Eréndira is, of course, a masterpiece.
This novel might well represent the epitome of Latin American baroque style. I love both Carpentier and García Márquez, but I don't know, there's just something about Gabo... He seems to be closer to the "general reader" (whatever that means), especially in this novel. (I'm thinking of what he said about The Autumn of the Patriarch being his most "popular" novel.)
Your comments on fantasy are magnificent. I was reminded of Jaime Alazraki's theory of the neo-fantastic, which I encountered ages ago while working on an essay for one of my classes. I wish I could remember the details... I will see if I can find my notes. This type of fantasy was particularly popular in the Río de la Plata region, but it was not exclusive to it, as we can see by some writings by Gabo, Rulfo, Fuentes, and so many others. I think the main danger for critics is (as you suggest) to fall into the exoticization of Latin America (and other cultures, of course). This may well be one of the main reasons why so many readers have come to dislike or at least to be wary of "magical realism" (as a thing and/or as a label).
You're absolutely right about Gordimer's comment too; as unfair as it may have been back in the late 70s and early 80s (when that particular interview was conducted, in two parts), today's panorama is quite another story. The politicization of literature... "cuestión compleja," as Piglia might have said.
Thank you once again, my friend, and have a fantastic weekend!
Going to go look for my copy
And start reading
Thanks
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Stephen! 😃 Please let me know what you think of Gabo's great novel. Have an amazing day, my friend, and happy reading!
I never thought Spanish - American literature was just novels about vicious dictators.
The "dictator novel" was a genre I found after reading a lot of poetry (Neruda, Paz, Ruben Dario) and Borges.
Also nonfiction like Neruda's Memoirs, Llosa's Flaubert book, and the essays of Borges and Sabato. And Clarice Lispector.
As a native of the U.S., I can say at least Central and South America has literature of politics, where the ruling classes is examined.
All we ever had was Gore Vidal and Ward Just. They were great novelists, but they are gone.
Hello Donald! 😃 Latin American poetry is simply mind-blowing, especially the poets you mention. I'll do something on Paz, hopefully soon. I've been meaning to read Vargas Llosa's book on Flaubert for a long time. Something tells me the writer in me needs to read it. We need a volume of Sabato's collected essays in English. They were quite influential for me, especially the collection El escritor y sus fantasmas. You're absolutely right: we do have a great tradition of political literature in Latin America, and I noticed the contrast when I began to explore US literature, when I moved here. I must read Gore Vidal and Ward Just. So many authors deserve to be read. Thank you once again for watching and commenting, my friend, and have a wonderful day!
Hi Jorge.Thanks for the interesting discussion of one of Garcia Marquez's most neglected books.Although the lengthy sentences seem intimidating at first,you soon get used to the style which seems to draw the reader closer to the main character's macabre world.I know the dictator novel is often seen as a typical Latin American subject and I thought of Pinochet in particular when I read it but of course there are many more dictators in other parts of the world ,particularly Africa but I don't know enough about African literzture to know if there is a connection there.But I must re read this novel,so thanks again and have a great weekend.
Hello Richard! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I too was intimidated years ago when I opened this book and saw a block of text, but what a mesmerizing style it is. As you point out, this is an unfortunately universal topic, and I think a large part of the novel's success lies in the fact that, because the figure at the center is a composite, any dictator can be "read into" this figure of the patriarch. Hope you enjoy the rereading experience, my friend. Have a wonderful weekend!
African literature has great legacy that can be considered as part of Dictator/ Dictatorship novels. Ahmadou Kourouma’s Waiting for the Wild Beast to Vote, Nuruddin Farah’s Variations on the Theme of Dictatorship Trilogy and Nguni wa Thiong’o’s The Wizard of the Crow are the most important ones I have read…. Also, Naguib Mehouz’s Children of Gabelawi can be considered as one of the genre…
Thank you so much for this list, Fazal! 😃
I loved that book !
And yes, exactly : it felt like being carried down a tumultuous torrent.
I was mostly struck by the impotence, the powerlessness coming to the character with old age. Also his paranoia, because he knows he’s become too feeble to cling to the top position.
You are absolutely right, my friend! 😃 We associate dictators with power; this novel explores the other side of the coin, the side that one rarely sees. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and have an amazing day!
I'm now interested to read this, thanks. I have to wonder if "Massacre River" by Rene Philoctete was influenced by this as you discussed it, a book I read for Haiti and very much enjoyed....
What I often think of is how the dictator, king, emperor is really the default form of rule rather than the exception in human history. What seems really special about these so called "dictator novels" is that they caricaturize rather than mythologize, humanize rather than "endiosar" the dictator, which separates it from epics of kings of the past. They are radical and strangely optimistic in their belief in a new world, a new paradigm where the ruler can now be seen as a clown, or a puppet of his own masochism and sadism as you put it. We'll see how my ideas on this hold up when I get to "Yo El Supremo" and "El Señor Presidente". Maybe I can sneak this one in and discuss it in those videos.
You should definitely check it out, Mike! 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting. I'm not familiar with Massacre River, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was an influence. If not, I wouldn't be surprised either: García Márquez really nailed the figure of the dictator, to the point that (as I mention in another comment here) almost any totalitarian ruler can be "read into" his patriarca. You're so right about the contrast with the classical epics. This speaks volumes about the development of the general perception of the ruler. I think El Señor Presidente is, of these novels, the one that is closer to mythologizing (or at least to drawing a parallel with mythology, which is not always the same thing). That may be another reason why Gabo considered it to be "una novela pésima." I personally enjoyed it, but that's just my opinion. Have an amazing weekend, my friend, and happy reading!
Excellent review.
Thank you so much, my friend! 😃 Glad you enjoyed it. Have an excellent weekend!
I adore this book
It's brilliant, isn't it? 😃 Thank you so much for watching and commenting, Aroua. Have a wonderful day, my friend!
Awesome video, Jorge. I also listened to the one on Soseki. The one I have read by him was Sanshiro (which was delicious). Are you on other social media. Best, J
Thank you so much, Jeff! 😃 Soseki is amazing, and Sanshiro is my favorite. I liked it even better than Kokoro, I Am a Cat, and... well, Kusamakura may be just as good, but in a different way. I hope to do another video on Soseki one of these days. RUclips is the only social media that I use regularly. I've never used Instagram, for example; sometimes I feel like trying it, but there is the issue of time, haha. I'll let you know if I ever open an account. Thanks again for watching and commenting, my friend, and have an amazing day!
Also Jorge, if you could please tell me about one recurring theme in Marquez's books, he seems to be fascinated by relationships of older men with extremely young women. Do you think this was a representation of some of the powerful men he knew, or his own relationships?
That is a great point! This fascination can be seen especially in the novel Of Love and Other Demons and in the novella Memories of My Melancholy Whores, both of them later works in his corpus. I would relate it more to the issue of power, as you mention, that to his personal life. It could also be analyzed in the context of machismo and its cultural implications (so, at the end of the day, still mainly the issue of power). Hope this helps, my friend! Have a wonderful day, and thanks again! 😃