The 24 Most Influential Books in the Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Everything in life affects us, from the television programs or series we watch, to the advice and words of our family or friends, to the books we read. Well, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was no exception, he also had his influences, and we know what were the 24 most influential books in the life of this great writer.

If you want to know them, if you want to know if one of those books is your favorite book or the one that marked you the most, then stay and read our article. We have the titles and small annotations that the owner Gabriel Garcia Marquez made of them at the time of his reading.

1. "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann
2. "The Man in the Iron Mask" by Alexandre Dumas
3. "Ulysses" by James Joyce
4. "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
5. “Sophocles' "Oedipus the King"
6. "The House of Seven Roofs" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
7. "Tale of the Thousand and One Nights"
8. "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka
9. "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf
10. "The Wild Palms" also by William Faulkner
11. "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner
12. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe
13. "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville
14. "Sons and Lovers" by D.H. Lawrence
15. "El Aleph" by Jorge Luis Borges
16. “The Short Story Collection Written By Ernest Hemingway
17. “Counterpoint by Aldous Huxley
18. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
19. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
20. “Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
21. "Stories" by Katherine Mansfield
22. "Manhattan Transfer" by John Dos Passos
23. "Portrait of Jennie" by Robert Nathan
24. "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf

"The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann

This Thomas Mann novel began to be written around 1912, but was not published until 1924. This philosophical and educational novel recounts the experience of the young Hans Castorp in a psychiatric sanatorium, which he entered from the start only as a visitor.

"The Man in the Iron Mask" by Alexandre Dumas

A great classic that was made into a movie and apparently had a lot to do with the life of GG Marquez.

"Ulysses" by James Joyce

Marquez also spoke of this great foundational work of universal literature. "Ulises" It is considered a masterpiece that is constantly quoted and admired by all writers as a reference work. It was first published in 1922 in Paris. This is the other Bible. It was, of course, through James Joyce, Ulysses, who I read in bits and pieces and stuttered until I lost my temper. It was a premature cheek. Years later, as a docile adult, I set myself the task of re-reading it in a serious way, and it was not only the discovery of a real world I never suspected in myself, but it also provided me with very valuable technical help. . , release language and manage time and structures in my books.

"The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

About this book, Gabo said the following: "I realized that my adventure in reading "Ulysses" at age twenty, and later "The noise and the fury", was premature brutality with no future, and I decided to read them again with one eye less. Indeed, a lot of what seemed pedantic or hermetic, Joyce and Faulkner, was then revealed to me in just terrifying beauty.”

"Orlando" by Virginia Woolf

It is considered by Virginia Woolf to be one of the most popular and widely read novels. We suppose it is partly because he dared to write about certain taboo topics at the time: homosexuality, female sexuality, as well as the role of women (writer, homemaker,).

What did you think of Garcia Marquez’s notes on these books? Do you agree with him? Have you read many of these books or, on the contrary, have you just realized that you still lack a great literary world to know?

"Portrait of Jennie" by Robert Nathan

A painter depressed by the loss of inspiration encounters a girl dressed old-fashioned in Central Park on a winter's day. From that moment on, other encounters follow one another, with the special feature that the girl changes in short intervals into a beautiful young woman, with whom the painter falls in love. However, Jennie is hiding a secret... Two films have been made based on this novel, one in Spain and one in Venezuela.

"Manhattan Transfer" by John Dos Passos

This novel is often compared to "The Great Gatsby" given the similarities they have. Everything happens in New York, the characters that appear, some disappear into thin air and others, most of them, have a certain link. The entire development of the novel takes place over 30 years.

"Stories" by Katherine Mansfield

The stories and tales of Katherine Mansfield, who was really called Kathleen Beauchamp, we can find them in two anthologies of their Short Stories, one published in 2000 by Ediciones Cátedra and another by Ediciones El País.

Counterpoint by Aldous Huxley

It is without a doubt Aldous Huxley's best work. It was published in 1928 and, according to critics, is quite ambitious and very successful. There is as much literature as musical culture in this work, since Huxley is seen as the initiator of 'musicalization'.

"El Aleph" by Jorge Luis Borges

Here Borges showed his existentialism and published a book quite critical of man, which he deems unable to face a 'possible' eternity. If you want to read a very complete biography about Borges, here's this link. You will love it if you consider yourself a "Borgiano"! Moreover, you may know here that were also the 74 books that Borges recommended for their high quality.

"As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner

In this book, we enter the life of a Southern family who embarks on a complete journey in order to bury their mother's rotten corpse.

It is a book with a certain poetic rhythm, despite being written in prose. Before that, William Faulkner was a specialist.

 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

A highly critical novel about slavery, its immorality and especially about the wickedness of certain types of people. It was published on March 20, 1852 and caused much controversy, especially in the US. Still, it was the second most-bought book of its time, after the Bible, and was the best-selling novel of the entire 2nd century. It is worth reading for this data alone if you haven't already.

"Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville

Who does not know the book of "Moby-Dick"? Although it is now a novel known to everyone, we have to say that it was unsuccessful.

The first publication was made in 1851, specifically on October 18. Another important fact that you may not know is that the novel is based on two real cases: The epic that the whaler suffered Essex when a sperm whale attacked it in 1820. The case of an albino sperm whale prowling on Mocha Island, Chile, in 1839.

 "Sons and Lovers" by D.H. Lawrence

It was published in 1913 and ranked ninth among the 9 best novels of the 100th century proposed by The Modern Library.

In this novel we can see the development of a normal working class lower middle class family, in which there are some instances of first sexual relations.

"El Aleph" by Jorge Luis Borges

Here Borges showed his existentialism and published a book quite critical of man, which he deems unable to face a 'possible' eternity.

If you want to read a very complete biography about Borges, here is this link. You will love it if you consider yourself a "Borgiano"! In addition, you may know here that were also the 74 books that Borges recommended for their high quality.

The collection of short stories written by Ernest Hemingway

It is impossible for GG Marquez not to mention Hemingway and his works. Ernest, as we quoted Borges in the previous section, also made his list of recommended books. If you want to know what they are, just click here.

Counterpoint by Aldous Huxley

It is without a doubt Aldous Huxley's best work. It was published in 1928 and, according to critics, is quite ambitious and very successful. There is as much literature as musical culture in this work, since Huxley is seen as the initiator of 'musicalization'.

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

This book has a lot to do with the author, as it is based on Steinbeck's own experiences as a homeless man in the 1920s. This book is of very direct language, to the point that some critics consider it rather offensive and vulgar. The writer would win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

The same author as the previous one awarded the Pulitzer Prize “The Grapes of Wrath” Prize in 1940. It was a very controversial work at the time, as it was quite a cross-border book at the time.

Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

This book tells the story of the Lester family. A farming family that moves for and for tobacco. A novel taken up in the movement called southern Goth where dirt, misery and insecurity are the most common features in its development.