Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies

Garcia Marquez was considered one of the greatest Spanish-language authors, best known for his masterpiece of magical realism, One Hundred Years of Solitude. The 1967 novel sold more than 30 million copies and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. Garcia Marquez had been ill and had made few public appearances recently, BBC News reports. He achieved fame for pioneering magical realism, a unique blending of the marvellous and the mundane in a way that made the extraordinary seem routine. With his books, he brought Latin America's charm and teaming contradictions to life in the minds of millions of people. 'Greatest Colombian' "Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died," a spokeswoman for the family, Fernanda Familiar, said on Twitter. "[His wife] Mercedes and her sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, have authorised me to provide the information. Such deep sadness," she added. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos also took to Twitter to pay tribute to the author. "One Hundred Years of Solitude and sadness for the death of the greatest Colombian of all time," he wrote. US President Barack Obama said the world had "lost one of its greatest visionary writers - and one of my favourites from the time I was young". Former US President Bill Clinton also said: "I was always amazed by his unique gifts of imagination, clarity of thought, and emotional honesty. I was honoured to be his friend and to know his great heart and brilliant mind for more than 20 years." Read more