 The General in His Labyrinth ( original Spanish title : El general en su laberinto ) is a novel by the Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez . It is a fictionalized account of the last days of Simón Bolívar , liberator and leader of Gran Colombia . First published in 1989 , the book traces Bolívar 's final journey from Bogotá to the Caribbean coastline of Colombia in his attempt to leave South America for exile in Europe . In this dictator novel about a continental hero , " despair , sickness , and death inevitably win out over love , health , and life " . Breaking with the traditional heroic portrayal of Bolívar El <unk> , García Márquez depicts a pathetic protagonist , a prematurely aged man who is physically ill and mentally exhausted . The story explores the labyrinth of Bolívar 's life through the narrative of his memories . 
