The literature world has lost one of its best.
Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez died at his home in Mexico City Thursday afternoon. He was 87.
For generations, García Márquez captivated audiences with his novels and short stories about Latin America, superstition, inequality, and violence. He is credited for popularizing “magical realism,” a genre in which reality and fantasy are combined.
His books “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and “Autumn of the Patriarch” are some of the most well-known and best-selling books of all time.
“With the passing of Gabriel García Márquez, the world has lost one of its greatest visionary writers — and one of my favorites from the time I was young,” said President Obama in a statement.
Former President Bill Clinton said he was “always amazed by his unique gifts of imagination, clarity of thought, and emotional honesty.”
It has been reported that the highly-admired writer and journalist considered Clinton one of his friends.
“I was honored to be his friend and to know his great heart and brilliant mind for more than 20 years,” Clinton said in a statement after the news broke.
García Márquez was often called the most significant Spanish-language author since “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes.
In 1982, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first Colombian and fourth Latin American to win such an award in literature.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto also expressed his condolences.
“On behalf of Mexico, I would like to express my sorrow for the passing of one of the greatest writers of our time, Gabriel García Márquez,” Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto tweeted.
Earlier this month, García Márquez was hospitalized for lung infections and dehydration. However, the exact cause of his death is still unknown.
García Márquez is survived by his wife Mercedes Barcha, two sons and countless of fans.
May he rest in peace.
