by Gabriel García Márquez
Paperback (Vintage, 2024)
ISBN-13 : 978-0241703779
144 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • The extraordinary rediscovered novel from the Nobel Prize–winning author of Love in the Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude—a moving tale of female desire and abandon
Sitting alone beside the languorous blue waters of the lagoon, Ana Magdalena Bach contemplates the men at the hotel bar. She has been happily married for twenty-seven years and has no reason to escape the life she has made with her husband and children. And yet, every August, she travels by ferry here to the island where her mother is buried, and for one night takes a new lover.
Across sultry Caribbean evenings full of salsa and boleros, lotharios and conmen, Ana journeys further each year into the hinterland of her desire and the fear hidden in her heart.
Constantly surprising, joyously sensual, Until August is a profound meditation on freedom, regret, self-transformation, and the mysteries of love—an unexpected gift from one of the greatest writers the world has ever known.
About the author
Gabriel García Márquez (March 6, 1927 – April 17, 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, and journalist widely regarded as one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. Born in Aracataca, Colombia, García Márquez was raised by his maternal grandparents, whose storytelling deeply influenced his literary style.
After studying law briefly, he pursued journalism, working for newspapers in Colombia and abroad. His literary breakthrough came with One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), which pioneered the magical realism literary style, blending fantastical elements with realistic situations. The novel earned international acclaim and has been translated into dozens of languages.
His other masterworks include Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), and The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975). In 1982, García Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novels and short stories “in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination.”
García Márquez’s contribution to world literature lies in his ability to transform Latin American culture, myths, and political realities into universally resonant stories. He died in Mexico City in 2014, leaving behind a literary legacy that continues to influence writers worldwide.
About the translator
Anne McLean is an acclaimed literary translator who specializes in Latin American and Spanish fiction. Based in Toronto, Canada, she has translated works by numerous significant Spanish-language authors including Julio Cortázar, Enrique Vila-Matas, Javier Cercas, and Juan Gabriel Vásquez. McLean is particularly noted for her translations of several of Gabriel García Márquez’s works.
Her exceptional translation work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (now the International Booker Prize) and the Premio Valle Inclán. She has earned respect for her skillful ability to capture both the linguistic nuances and cultural context of Spanish-language literature. McLean has taught translation at universities and frequently speaks at literary events about the art of literary translation.
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