I read this book because of the constant references to it in John Greene's "Looking for Alaska" which I read and reviewed earlier this year. The last words of Simon Bolivar in that book have a large influence on the character of Alaska and I thought it would give me a fuller picture of the character to read this book also. I have read some of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' work before and described him as "wordy and long-winded". I'm afraid that "The General in his Labyrinth" has done nothing to dis-spell this notion. The only Labyrinth I felt I was negotiating in this book was the narrative which I, once again, found to be a good story buried in a sea of adjectives and flashbacks. Despite all this, I actually like Marquez, I like his stories and the topics he deals with. My only wish was that he had dealt with them a little less wordily and in a little more depth. All in all i can only recommend this to the people who truly love Marquez and his works or people who like a "deep" reading experience.