Headlines
Stolen first edition copy of Marquez masterpiece retrieved
Bogota, May 9
The Colombian police have
announced that a stolen first-edition copy of "One Hundred Years of
Solitude", Nobel prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez's most renowned
novel, has been recovered.
The book, stolen from the
International Book Fair of Bogota on May 2, was found inside a box of a
street book stall and then donated by its original owner to the national
library on Friday, the Bogota police department of the capital
administration said.
The book, first published in Buenos Aires in
1967 when Marquez lived in Mexico, was found by a book salesman not
knowing who had left it there, Xinbua news agency reported.
After
receiving the book from Police Director Rodolfo Palomino, its owner
Alvaro Castillo announced his decision to donate it to the national
library.
Castillo said the book belongs to the country even
though it has the handwriting of Marquez stating "To Alvaro Castillo,
the old-book seller, as yesterday and forever, your friend, Gabo".
"This
book does not belong to me but to my country. I will donate it to the
national library. After it was stolen, I could see the outrage across
the country and called on the thieves to return it," Castillo said.
Police
said the return of the stolen book would not end the crime inquiry as
it still remained statutory for them to capture the thief who could face
a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.