Five Authors in the Spotlight

The age-old question: If you could bring only three books with you onto a deserted island, which ones would they be? Why?

Isabel Allende: I would bring the best possible encyclopedia, a very good survival manual, and a large book with blank pages to write my own stories.

Jorge Ramos: The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and Paula by Isabel Allende. All of these titles are fantastically well written, explore human complexity, and help us understand our world.

Javier Sierra: The Holy Bible, because it’s an infinite source of stories, characters, and inspirational ideas. The Eight, a superb novel by Katherine Neville. And a book of only white pages to write on.

Cristina García: I would bring books written by Federico García Lorca, Jorge Luis Borges, and Virginia Woolf’s Orlando—although I would probably want to bring a collection of Chekhov too. Can I bring four books?

Victor Villaseñor: I’d like to change it to three authors. I would take Homer, Confucius, and myself. I’d take Homer, because he would give me a big opener for the European-based mentality. Confucius to show the wisdom and that wonderful other way of thinking that comes from China. Lastly, my own books to show the new world, the Americas, and the indigenous peoples, so that way I’d have a flavor for the entire planet.