Isabel Allende Says Goodbye to Gabriel García Márquez

Isabel Allende is the author of many beloved books, including The House of Spirits, Eva Luna, Daughter of Fortune (an Oprah pick), and Maya's Notebook. At last week's news of the death of celebrated writer Gabriel García Márquez, Allende released a beautiful statement and tribute to the man she credits as her inspiration.

"Very few books can withstand the implacable test of time, very few authors are remembered, but García Márquez belongs among the classics of universal literature," she wrote. "I owe him the impulse and the freedom to plunge into literature. In his books I found my own family, my country, the people I have known all my life, the color, the rhythm, and the abundance of my continent. My maestro has died. I will not mourn him because I have not lost him: I will continue to read his words over and over."

Read the entire tribute in English and Spanish below.