The story was included in Márquez's 1984 "Collected Stories".[4] A study guide has been produced for the story.[5]
Constance Pedoto, in the Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, compares the magical realist story to tales from Alaska such as "The Cormorant Hunters" by the Iñupiat Frank Ellana or "Two Great Polar Bear Hunters" by the King Island Eskimo Aloysius Pikonganna. In her view, they are alike in combining the real and the surreal, deriving from an upbringing which combined superstitious beliefs and a harsh environment.[6]
