Leaf Storm and Other Stories [Paperback]

Gabriella Garcia Marquez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1973

Contains Leaf Storm, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, Blacaman the Good, Vendor of Miracles, The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship, Monologue of Isabel Watching It Rain in Macondo, Nabo

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Gabriel GarcÍa MÁrquez was born in Colombia in 1927. His many books include The Autumn of the Patriarch; No One Writes to the Colonel; Love in the Time of Cholera; a memoir, Living to Tell the Tale; and, most recently, a novel, Memories of My Melancholy Whores. Gabriel GarcÍa MÁrquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon (June 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380013231
• ISBN-13: 978-0380013234
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,641,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreamy, December 20, 2003

By 

Patrick O'Brien - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaf Storm (Harper Colophon Books) (Paperback)

I loved this novella and the short stories that were included in the volume.

"Leaf Storm" isn't a conventionally plotted novella. Instead, it's more of a dreamy and dreamlike character study of three people and their reactions to the suicide (or possible murder) of the town outcast and recluse. When the novella ends, we are left with many unanswered questions, but still, we feel fulfilled for we sense there are things about this suicide/murder that it's best simply not to know.

I have to disagree with opinions that Gregory Rabassa didn't do a good job with the translation. I think he did a superb job. He not only translated the story for us, he managed to capture the rain-soaked, steamy melancholy that is the essence of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Rabassa is well-known as having been one of the world's premier translators and it's easy to see why.

I loved the two fantasy stories, "The Hansomest Drowned Man in the World" and "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings." They are filled with the brand of magical realism that only Gabo can write and are just wonderful. I also liked "Monologue of Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo" and "Ghost Ship."

This book gives us a glimpse into the world of Macondo and it's a very seductive glimse indeed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gabo is great from the beginning, December 8, 2005

By 

Alysson Oliveira "Alysson Oliveira" (Sao Paulo-- Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leaf Storm (Harper Colophon Books) (Paperback)

'Leaf Storm' is known as the first novella published by Gabriel García Márquez. And from this debut is possible to see how big he would become one day. This book tells a very simple story that acquires multiple levels as it is told.

After the death of an infamous doctor of Macondo his only friends, this friend's daughter and her son gather to the funerals. The dead man is known as the devil and everyone hates him. His death made the city very happy. As the story is unfolded, we learn why he's so hated and how come the threesome ended up there to mourn him.

Using multiple points of views, Gabo gives the three protagonists chances to speak to themselves and we can find out how dreadful is to each of one be there. The writer is able to switch the point of view, and also the language --after all, a little boy does not speak as an old man. This is one of the remarkable qualities of this wonderful novella.

This is the very first time that the imaginary place Macondo appears in Gabo's story and it became a seminal place of his stories --among them the masterpiece 'A Hundred years of solitude'.

4.0 out of 5 stars A great short story., June 26, 2009

By 

Chibi - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leaf Storm: and Other Stories (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

I bought this book to help my study on Spanish. I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but the original is still too hard for me. This translation work is quite acurate while maintaining the flavor of Garcia Marquez. It helps me greatly and speed up my understanding. However, In addition to be a study aid, the book also provides a great deal of enjoyable reading. I recomend it for a summer reading.