It’s hard for a writer to escape from influences, says Garcia’s grandson

Trivandrum / February 3, 2023

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb.04: As an author, Mateo Garcia Elizondo, the grandson of Columbian literary icon Gabriel Garcia Marquez, wants to tread his own path while holding the view that influences are hard to escape and avoid for a writer.

“I find it hard to step away from the influence of writers; still you are trying to make your own literature. But, at the same time, all influences are very difficult to escape,” said Mr Elizondo in a conversation on “Marquez, My Grandfather” with Mr E Santhosh Kumar at the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL 2023) here last evening. 

The Mexican-born author said he wanted to write something different from Gabo --fondly referred to Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, when he stepped into the literary world.

“When the novel, ‘Unacita con la Lady,’ came out, everyone started comparing it with having the style of a couple of Mexican writers. I agree to it and it has lot of other influences too,” revealed Mr Elizondo, who won the City of Barcelona Award for his debut novel.

According to him, influences are not a bad thing but one just need to do one’s own thing in the creation.

Commenting on the ‘burden’ of carrying on the literary legacy (his maternal grandfather is Mexican literary giant Salvador Elizondo), he said people have a certain set of expectations and misjudgement when his book is published.

Admitting that it’s difficult to manage himself as Gabo’s grandson, Mr Elizondo said while analysing the book with family’s literary legacy, the book can’t have its own life and a shadow cast on it. 

“I usually don’t come for conferences about Marquez. I’m trying to build my own career and my own work and style,” he stressed.

Mr Elizondo admires Gabo’s novel ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ as it is a kind of chronicle of his family and he realised more about his grandfather through this classic. He also likes his short stories, including ‘The Ghosts of August’ and ‘Light is Like Water.’

He recalled that despite his supreme fame, Gabo deftly protected his personal life, and also taught his grandson a lot of things.

Albeit a notable screenwriter, Mr Elizondo likes fiction as it is difficult in cinema to explore and get into the process of consciousness of characters.

MBIFL 2023 features an impressive line-up of Nobel and Booker Prize winners and Jnanpith awardees, among over 400 eminent names in creative fields.