Every obituary dedicated to him mentions that Garcia Marquez is a universal writer. I have no idea what this is supposed to mean when said about a writer who made his career out of exoticizing Colombia and selling the “oh, Lordy, these Colombians surely are freaky and weird” idea to the world.
Garcia Marquez is read around the world precisely because nobody can identify with his characters. He is a great master of the fantasy genre, maybe the best the world has ever known. Unless we count the need to escape to an imaginary world populated not with people but with leprechauns as universal, I have no idea how his work can fit that description.
Clarissa's Blog 
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