Nobel laureate author Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies

One of the most celebrated authors of the Spanish language passed away on Thursday in Mexico City

Gabriel García Márquez, one of Colombia's greatest authors, has died at the age of 87-years-old. He had recently been hospitalised for pneumonia, and passed away in Mexico City on Thursday afternoon. Although he had several hugely famous and critically acclaimed works including Love in the Time of Cholera and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the work which is his most widely known and celebrated was One Hundred years of Solitude selling over 50 million copies in 25 languages around the world. Márquez spent his childhood living with his grandparents in Aracataca, and their stories and that town became the inspiration for the characters and the town of Macondo in his novel. In the book, the story of the Buendía family and their hometown is told, but metaphorically the history of Colombia and Latin America was woven in, sprinkled with moments of 'magical realism'. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos took to Twitter to speak of his sadness after the event, saying "one thousand years of solitude and sadness for the death of one of the greatest Colombians of all time".

Mil años de soledad y tristeza por la muerte del más grande colombiano de todos los tiempos! Solidaridad y condolencias a la Gaba y familia

— Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) April 17, 2014

With the long weekend ahead, you could do worse than getting your hands on a copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude and giving it a read, it's well worth your time.