Every year on August 16th Ana Magdalena Bach travels to a tropical island from her home. She goes by ferry to put gladiolas on her mother’s grave. She stays in the same hotel for one night and returns home the next day via the ferry. However, this time she takes a lover for the one night she stays on the island. For the following two years she takes two other men as lovers for that one night. The three men are very different but each has an impact on her life when she returns home.

This novella was published ten years after Marquez’s death. He wrote it while suffering dementia,was unhappy with the results, and asked that it never be published. Two of his sons felt it was well worth publishing, and I am grateful. Although not one his best works, Until August still shows glimmers of Marquez’s genius.