The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll

Álvaro Mutis · 1923–2013 · Colombia

Originally Empresas y tribulaciones de Maqroll el Gaviero (Spanish) · translated by Edith Grossman

Why it matters

Seven linked novellas follow a stateless, doomed merchant sailor across ports, failed schemes, and melancholic adventure. A modern Ulysses with nowhere left to go home to, from García Márquez's closest friend.

At a glance

Seven linked novellas roam widely, requiring the reader to assemble a scattered life.