I received two must-read books this week, and I wanted to share them with you as I begin reading them tonight.

Tommy Orange has written what is described as one of the most important books of the year. Orange’s first book, There There, became an instant classic. This new book, the novel Wandering Stars, is a sequel and is also being described as a masterpiece.

I’ve started the book – just a few pages – and am afraid and excited to read it.

I expect it will be powerful, disturbing, and meaningful.

It’s a novel described as an eloquent and heartbreaking indictment of the effects of the massacre, dislocation, and forced assimilation and murder of Native American children. It is also a homage to the importance of family and ancestors’ stories. It focuses on the slaughter and tragedy of Cheyenne children and the effect on their families and the Native American culture.

The book is also described as an extraordinary piece of writing. Orange is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma. There There won the Pulitzer Prize and a slew of other awards. I found it a brilliant and painful book. I have high hopes for this one.

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The second book is an emotional trip for me.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez was my all-time favorite novelist and writer. Every one of his books was a significant event in my life.

He died a decade ago after losing his memory to dementia. He was writing his last novel—Until August—as he was losing his memory. “Memory is my source material and my tool, ” he said in one of his last interviews in Mexico City. “Without it, I am nothing.”

I doubt that anything he ever wrote could be “nothing. ” My favorite of his was One Hundred Years Of Solitude; years later, it remains the best novel I have ever read.

As his memory faded, he gave up on the novel and asked that it never be released. His two children,  Rodrigo and Gonzalo Garcia Barcha honored his wishes, put the book away for a decade, and re-read it last year.

They said it was not his best work and reflected his worsening mental condition, but they said there was a lot of magic in it. One of his editors also edited it.

They said it also showed his gifts and brilliance and was good enough to publish and be read. I appreciate their honesty.

Marquez could write about his dog, and I would want to read it. This is the story of Ana Magdalena Bach and her curious love life despite being happily married for 27 years. It sounds like Marquez to me, and I am very grateful to be able to read his work in any form, memory or not. Even his worst will be better than most writers’ best.

It will be an emotional experience for me; the book is only 123 pages and has the original manuscript re-printed at the end. The children acknowledged that they were betraying his wishes, but I’m glad they did. I’ll treasure this book, one page at a time. I’ll let you know how it goes.