French Literature Reviews - 2026
Á. Santana-Acuña, Ascent to Glory. How One Hundred Years of Solitude Was Written and Became a Global Classic
Comparative and World Literature
Ascent to Glory
How One Hundred Years of Solitude Was Written and Became a Global Classic
Álvaro Santana-Acuña
Columbia University Press, August 2020
ISBN: 9780231184335 — 384 p.
Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude seemed destined for obscurity upon its publication in 1967. The little-known author, small publisher, magical style, and setting in a remote Caribbean village were hardly the usual ingredients for success in the literary marketplace. Yet today it ranks among the best-selling books of all time. Translated into dozens of languages, it continues to enter the lives of new readers around the world. How did One Hundred Years of Solitude achieve this unlikely success? And what does its trajectory tell us about how a work of art becomes a classic?
Ascent to Glory is a groundbreaking study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, from the moment García Márquez first had the idea for the novel to its global consecration. Using new documents from the author’s archives, Álvaro Santana-Acuña shows how García Márquez wrote the novel, going beyond the many legends that surround it. He unveils the literary ideas and networks that made possible the book’s creation and initial success. Santana-Acuña then follows this novel’s path in more than seventy countries on five continents and explains how thousands of people and organizations have helped it to become a global classic. Shedding new light on the novel’s imagination, production, and reception, Ascent to Glory is an eye-opening book for cultural sociologists and literary historians as well as for fans of García Márquez and One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Álvaro Santana-Acuña is an assistant professor of sociology at Whitman College.
View the book on the publisher's website...
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Contents
Introduction
Part I. From the Idea to the Book
1. Imagining a Work of Art
2. The Publishing Industry Modernizes
3. A Novel in Search of an Author
4. Networked Creativity and the Making of a Work of Art
Part II. Becoming a Global Classic
5. Controversy, Conflict, Collapse
6. A Novel Without Borders
7. Indexing a Classic
8. Ascent to Glory for Few, Descent to Oblivion for Most
Conclusion
Appendix: Why and How to Study Classics?
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
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An article on this work can be read on laviedesidees.fr:
"Seventeen Years of Multitude", by Annick Louis (online October 15, 2020)
A sociologist examines the history of the writing and rise to fame of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. He highlights the collective dimension of the process and emphasizes the role of cultural intermediaries in the making of this 20th-century literary classic.
The sociology of literature and cultural sociology frequently examine the complex pathways through which individual texts attain canonical status within the global literary marketplace. Studies in this scholarly tradition often investigate how publishing structures, international translation networks, and the concerted efforts of cultural intermediaries shape the reception of major twentieth-century narratives. By tracing the trajectory of a specific work across numerous countries and continents, researchers explore the broader mechanisms that transform regional literature into internationally recognized masterpieces read by diverse audiences worldwide.
Álvaro Santana-Acuña examines the creation and global consecration of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, utilizing archival documents to explore the novel's imagination, production, and reception. The study details how the author wrote the book, analyzes the literary ideas and networks involved in its initial success, and follows its path across more than seventy countries. Readers interested in cultural sociology, literary history, and the mechanisms of canon formation may find this volume relevant.