First edition copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel stolen

WASHINGTON: The first edition copy of Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez's most acclaimed book 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' has been stolen from a book fair in Bogota.

According to the copy owner Alvaro Castillo Granada, the book was stolen yesterday at the International Book Fair of Bogota organised to pay tributes to Marquez, who died last year.

The stolen copy has a dedication of "To Alvaro Castillo, the old-book seller, as yesterday and forever, your friend, Gabo." Marquez was known as Gabo throughout Latin America.

It also has a cover different from that of other versions, featuring a boat surrounded by wild plants, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The copy is invaluable and should not go on sale," said Castillo, adding an official complaint has been filed before authorities.

The widely acclaimed book, considered by many to be the Marquez's masterpiece, was first published in Spanish in 1967.

It has been subsequently translated into 37 languages and has sold more than 30 million copies.

Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.