Novel Approach

“Toward the end of his life, when his memory was in pieces, Gabriel García Márquez struggled to finish a novel about the secret sex life of a married middle-age woman. He attempted at least five versions and tinkered with the text for years, slashing sentences, scribbling in the margins, changing adjectives, dictating notes to his assistant. Eventually, he gave up, and issued a final, devastating judgment. ‘He told me directly that the novel had to be destroyed,’ said Gonzalo García Barcha, the author’s younger son.” And yet, in a not uncommon twist, that very book is about to be published. NYT (Gift Article): Gabriel García Márquez Wanted to Destroy His Last Novel. It’s About to Be Published. (I have several novels that I’ve advised my kids to attempt to get published after my demise. They should learn to deal with rejection.)