Gabriel García Márquez said his last novel must be destroyed; his sons published it on his 97th birthday

García Márquez left an unfinished novel in up to five drafts. After his death it was stored with his personal archive at the University of Texas. His sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo García, say he told them: "This book doesn't work. It must be destroyed." They did not destroy it. With the editor Cristóbal Pera, who had edited the last two books their father published, they assembled a text from the drafts. Gonzalo said nothing was added beyond what was in the manuscripts. In the preface the sons call the decision a betrayal and add, "But that's what children are for." En agosto nos vemos (Until August) was published on 6 March 2024, the day he would have turned 97. Critics attacked the decision and reviews were mixed. The sons say dementia in his last years kept him from finishing the book^†. The drafts remain at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin^†. The sons have said there are no other unfinished novels in storage.