Vila i frid

När jag vaknar på långfredagen möts jag i det sociala flödet av att en av de verkligt stora gått ur tiden. Det har  snart gått tjugo år sedan jag läste Hundra åt av ensamhet och det har varit få böcker som under den tiden ens nått upp till fotknölarna på detta mästerverk.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1927-2014

I Paris Review läser jag en intervju med den motvilligt berömde författaren (och Nobelpristagaren).

INTERVIEWER

Why do you think fame is so destructive for a writer?

GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ

Primarily because it invades your private life. It takes away from the time that you spend with friends, and the time that you can work. It tends to isolate you from the real world. A famous writer who wants to continue writing has to be constantly defending himself against fame. I don’t really like to say this because it never sounds sincere, but I would really have liked for my books to have been published after my death, so I wouldn’t have to go through all this business of fame and being a great writer. In my case, the only advantage in fame is that I have been able to give it a political use. Otherwise, it is quite uncomfortable. The problem is that you’re famous for twenty-four hours a day and you can’t say, “Okay, I won’t be famous until tomorrow,” or press a button and say, “I won’t be famous here or now.”