The General in His Labyrinth (original Spanish title: El general en su laberinto) is a novel by the Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez. It is a fictionalized account of the last days of Simón BolÃvar, liberator and leader of Gran Colombia. First published in 1989, the book traces BolÃvar’s final journey from Bogotá to the Caribbean coastline of Colombia in his attempt to leave South America for exile in Europe. In this dictator novel about a continental hero, “despair, sickness, and death inevitably win out over love, health, and life”. Breaking with the traditional heroic portrayal of BolÃvar El Libertador, GarcÃa Márquez depicts a pathetic protagonist, a prematurely aged man who is physically ill and mentally exhausted. The story explores the labyrinth of BolÃvar’s life through the narrative of his memories.
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