In Gabriel García Márquez’s novella Leaf Storm (1955) a family must give the most hated man in their village an honorable funeral, to honor a promise made many years ago, however, their plans put them at odds with everyone else in the village. The title story of Márquez’s short story collection, Leaf Storm and Other Stories, it is often published on its own. Márquez, also known as “Gabo,” was a Colombian writer and journalist. A Nobel Prize winner, he is widely considered as one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. Leaf Storm takes place in the fictional village of Macondo in South America, in the early 20th century. Many of Márquez’s short stories take place in Macondo, and this is the village’s first appearance. In Leaf Storm, the narrative switches perspectives between three members of the family—the village Colonel, his daughter Isabel, and his grandson—who each have different opinions on the scene unfolding around them. Each has a unique view of the world. It is a time of great change for Macondo. A powerful banana company has recently established its base there, planning to turn Macondo into an economic center. The company is attracting many new workers to the area, making the locals uncomfortable and causing tension as they feel there is not enough work or housing for so many new people. As the story begins, the town’s doctor dies suddenly. The Colonel finds him and discovers that he hanged himself. No one liked the dead man very much because he was a terrible doctor. He locked himself away in a tiny house at the edge of the village, refusing to see patients for more than a decade. The villagers don’t want to spend money or resources on his burial. They want to leave him locked in his home where he can rot forever. Unfortunately, despite his personal feelings toward the doctor, the Colonel promised the doctor many years ago that he would give him a dignified burial. The Colonel, an honorable and virtuous man, doesn’t break his promises. He decides to remove the doctor from the house and bury him properly, expecting his family to help him. In the meantime, the banana company causes a storm. They harvest more bananas than they need, and the stink of rotting fruit envelops the whole village. Macondo doesn’t look the same anymore: packed with warehouses and slums, the crime rate rises. Worried about how to get their home back, the last thing the villagers care about is burying the twisted doctor. If the Colonel plans to bury him, he must do it alone and without their blessing. The Colonel reveals the main reason why people despise the doctor. A while ago, political tensions caused the people of Macondo to rebel. The doctor refused to help anyone who rebelled against the government. He turned away gunshot victims because he thought they brought the injuries on themselves. Unsurprisingly, the villagers told the doctor that they didn’t want to see him again, and so he locked himself away and hadn’t been seen since. Isabel’s main issue with the doctor is his suicide, the ultimate sin against God. Not wanting to attract God’s wrath, she thinks the doctor does not deserve a religious burial. The villagers agree with her, however, they turn against her when they see she will do what the Colonel wants her to do. They think she is weak-willed and dishonorable. As Isabel watches over the doctor’s body, she thinks about what will happen after the burial, worried that no one will speak to the family again. Social rejection is the worst thing that can happen to a family in a small village like Macondo, where everyone relies on their neighbors for support and survival. Convinced that her father is wrong, Isabel feels powerless to disobey him. Meanwhile, Isabel’s son reflects on the brutal realities of death. He didn’t know the doctor, but he understands how death touches everyone in different ways. He doesn’t want the doctor’s death to break up his own family, but he also knows that it’s important to honor promises made. He admires his grandfather for keeping his promises, despite what anyone else thinks. No one, including Isabel, can understand why the Colonel made the promise in the first place. When she finally asks her father about it, he admits that he doesn’t like the doctor, either. He only promised to look after the doctor because his old friend, another officer, asked him to. The other officer knew how honorable the doctor was, and he knew he could trust the Colonel to respect tradition, despite what the villagers think. The story ends with the Colonel’s family planning how they will take the doctor’s body to the burial site. They arrange themselves into a funeral procession and leave. It’s unclear how the neighbors react, but their reaction isn’t important. What is important in this story is how, despite the changes around them, one family held true to their values and longstanding traditions.

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Gabriel García Márquez

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