This is very depressing news, as I have read a lot of Latin American literature (as a Spanish major)both in the original and translated by Rabassa. I always thought he sat at G-d's right hand, so to speak. And Rayuela, talk about an oldie but goodie, especially all the parts in Paris.

I think for most of us who started reading Latin American literature in translation during and after the Boom, Rabassa has always been a kind of sacred figure. When Garcia Marquez's memoir Living to Tell the Tale came out in English last year, I reread Rabassa's translations of the novels and stories at that recount some of the same events, and damned if I didn't like Grossman's Garcia Marquez far better than Rabassa's Garcia Marquez. (I'm not speaking to the accuracy, just to how enjoyable the prose is.) Though I probably should account for the possibility that the author's style may have improved over the years ...