You can also check out the top 10 Gabriel García Márquez works in Spanish.
Iconic writer Gabriel García Márquez is among Colombia and Latin America's most influential authors of the 20th century and beyond. And in audio, his gorgeous works of magical realism are made all the more engaging, brought to life by narrators that highlight the melodies of García Márquez’s lyrical prose. García Márquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in just a few minutes of listening, you'll be able to hear why. From his first novella, Leaf Storm, to the memoirs of his later years, it's hard to pick the very best books of one of the globe’s literary giants. Here are our top ten titles from the Colombian author and Nobel laureate still beloved the world over; titles are presented both in English and en Español.
García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is our introduction to the fictional town of Macondo, a setting heavily based on García Márquez's hometown of Aracataca. We explore the rise and fall of the town alongside generations of the Buendía family as they experience all the vagaries of life. The voice of master narrator John Lee pulls us along for a rich chronicle of small-town life. Beautifully crafted and fully realized, Macondo is a stunning microcosm of life itself. Plus, as Gabo's first substantial foray into magical realism, it also showcases some more fantastical elements that highlight each theme. With over 50 million copies sold worldwide, this is García Márquez at his very best.
En Español: Cien años de soledad
Love in the Time of Cholera is a tale that showcases every gripping moment of a tumultuous love story. Young Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza declare their love for each other, but when Fermina marries a wealthy doctor instead, Florentino is left with a broken heart. Though Florentino whiles away the years in the arms of many lovers, he never truly moves on from Fermina and he never gives anyone else his heart. At the funeral of Fermina's husband, over fifty years since the pair first admitted their feelings, Florentino again declares his love as an old man. This tale of love and devastation is skillfully narrated by bilingual voice actor Armando Durán, who brings an undeniable pull to a love story for the ages.
En Español: El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera
When Santiago Nasar was killed, everyone knew it was coming. Angela Vicario, a new bride, is ousted from her husband's house in disgrace when he discovers she was not a virgin. After naming her lover, Angela's twin brothers announce their plan to kill the man in revenge. The anonymous narrator returns to the town 27 years after the murder with one important question: if everyone knew there was going to be a murder, why did no one stop it? Actor Bernardo de Paula lends his voice to make this thrilling tale vividly come to life. As you follow along with the riveting plot, it's not hard to see how García Márquez's writing won him the Nobel Prize in Literature just a year after this novella was published.
En Español: Crónica de una muerte anunciada
This sweeping romance novella sees a bachelor who finds himself alone on the eve of his 90th birthday. He wants to give himself a gift: one night of love with a virgin from his favorite whorehouse. When he calls a madam for assistance, she finds him a companion for that very night. He discovers love for the first time in his life: a 14-year-old girl selling her virginity to help her family and care for her siblings. She is so exhausted from a life of work and responsibilities, that she can't help but fall asleep.
With her asleep at his side, the bachelor begins to fall in love. But by the end of the night, he finds his feelings have turned to love in a way none of them expected. Film, theater, and voice actor Thom Rivera's voice weaves this dramatic emotional tale of canny humor and tender revelations into the perfect short story for any listener.
En Español: Memoria de mis putas tristes
Explore all of the facets of life in No One Writes to the Colonel, and Other Stories. Hear about the richest and the poorest, the gap between memory and illusion, and the bittersweet combination of lost opportunity and present-day joy. Communities in the villages and towns of Latin America are brought to life with every word, with García Márquez taking special care to highlight grim social disparities. García Márquez flexes his skills as a short-story writer, bringing the listener nine tales that will transport them to another world thanks in part to the voices of a talented cast of narrators.
This captivating collection of short stories includes "No One Writes to the Colonel", "Tuesday Siesta", "One of These Days", "There Are No Thieves in This Town", "Balthazar's Marvelous Afternoon", "Montiel's Widow", "One Day After Saturday", "Artificial Roses", and "Big Mama's Funeral".
En Español: El coronel no tiene quien le escriba
The day Sierva María de Todos Los Ángeles is visiting the market to buy bells for her 12th birthday celebration, everything takes a turn for the worse when she is bitten by a rabid dog. When her collapsing noble family sends her to a convent to be exorcised, believing her to be possessed, she encounters Father Cayetano Delaura. Delaura, a priest sent to tend to Sierva María, finds himself gradually falling in love, with Sierva María right behind him. In a disquieting tale of love, grief, and torture, García Márquez dives into the ominous realities of love in all the wrong places. This chilling tale is brought to life by actor Christopher Salazar in a masterful rendition.
En Español: Del amor y otros demonios
General Simon Bolívar. The Liberator. Campaigner for Latin American independence. Hero and failed uniter of countries. In García Márquez's reimagining of the world-changing revolutionary, the listener is transported to the Magdalena River in 1830. Ousted from power, hunted by assassins, and slowly dying of disease, Bolívar is nonetheless a powerful figure. As he laments the united South America that never was, Bolívar never wavers in conviction or in quiet tenacity until the end comes for him at last. An exploration of Bolívar as man, myth, and legend, The General in His Labyrinth is a masterful look into a larger-than-life hero. Bolívar's aging strength is effortlessly filled out by actor Michael Manuel's smooth narration.
En Español: El general en su laberinto
A collection of a dozen stories, Strange Pilgrims dives into the lives of a variety of Latin American characters in Europe. From a couple in Geneva who take in the ex-president of a Caribbean country to the exploits of an aging Brazilian prostitute in Barcelona, García Márquez crafts dozens of unforgettable characters and stories. Each tale takes a new look at what these expats experience so far from their first homes. Strange Pilgrims is filled to the brim with a mixture of sorrow, determination, melancholy, and desire. The lives of the pilgrims are saturated with both the mundane and the outlandish as they try to live their lives in spite of the difficulties they face. Frankie Corzo and Christopher Salazar lend their voices to the pilgrims, adding an undeniable personality to this character-driven collection.
En Español: Doce cuentos peregrinos
Returning to his origins in nonfiction writing, García Márquez skillfully lays out the events of the late-1990 manhunt for drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, head of the Medellin cartel. In a Colombia full of unrest, violence, economic collapse, disease, and drug trafficking, Escobar was hunted nationwide by the Colombian security forces. A gripping tale full of the cold, hard reality faced by the 10 men and women kidnapped as bargaining chips by Escobar, News of a Kidnapping is totally pause-resistant. You'll want to listen to the whole story in one sitting as the bizarre and deadly tale unfolds. The captivating narrative is captured excellently by performer Christopher Salazar, leaving you on the edge of your seat and hanging on every word.
En Español: Noticia de un secuestro
It’s no surprise that the autobiography of a writer as powerful as Gabriel García Márquez is as equally stunning as his works of fiction. From his early childhood to his schooling in Barranquilla, his career as a journalist to proposing to the woman who would become his wife, no stone is left unturned in this story of a life well-lived. Learn new facets of García Márquez's life that went on to inspire his writing, with some even becoming part of his narratives. Each story is told like a conversation with the listener. You'll feel like you're sitting across the table from the man himself as you hear wild stories about his relatives, his mentors, and his own life, with narrator Christopher Salazar bringing the life of Gabriel García Márquez into full, vivid intensity. Dive into the story behind the man, the author, and the legend he eventually became, all in his own words.
En Español: Vivir para contarla
