The epic novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (1967) is one of my favorite books. It is lovely and magical and beautifully written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He also wrote "Love in the Time of Cholera"(1985).
I recently read this quote by Marquez and, as a wanna-be writer, just said "Ahhhhh... if only."
People spend a lifetime thinking about how they would really like to live. I wish my life could have been like the years when I was writing "Love in the Time of Cholera". I would get up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning. I need only six hours of sleep. Then I quickly listened to the news. I would read from 6 to 8 because if I don't read at that time I won't get around to it anymore. I lose my rhythm. Someone would arrive at the house with fresh dish or lobster or shrimp caught nearby. Then I would write from 8 til 1. By midday, Mercedes would go to the beach and wait for me with my friends. I never quite knew who to expect;there were always people coming and going. After lunch I had a little siesta. And when the sun started going down I would go out on the street to look for places where my characters would go, to talk to people and pick up language and atmosphere. So the next morning I would have fresh material I had brought from the streets.
Ahhhhh.... if only, right?
1 comment:
One Hundred Years of Solitude is also one of my favourites. I recently read his autobiography and reading his life story was like reading one of his novels but with a bewildering array of characters; so far removed from anything in my limited experience, totally enthralling.
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