One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Book Reviews of One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)
Book Review: Macondo Will Live Forever:
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the unforgettable and favorite books for me has been for many years Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"] (which I believe should be translated as "One Hundred Years of Loneliness") - the marvelously told story of the rise and fall of the Buendia family, their times, their struggles, their curse and damnation - the loneliness that would finally destroy them and the universe that they created and inhabited. The story follows 100 years in the life of Macondo; a village founded by José Arcadio and Ursula Buendía and occupied by their descendants with the variations on their progenitor's name: his sons, José Arcadio and Aureliano, and grandsons, Aureliano José, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo. Then there are the Buendia women--the two Úrsulas, Amaranta, three Remedios, Fernanda, Rebecca, Santa Sofia de la Piedad, and Pilar Ternera -- the women in the family all have the strong personalities and are "more stubborn than jennets". The genre of the novel is defined as "magic realism" and I can testify that I've never read the book of such magic power, the book which is highly comical and deeply tragic in the same time.
The world that Marquez created is bright and sparkling; the images are vivid and memorable: the flower rain, the yellow butterflies that would always announce Mauricio Babylonia's entrance; the never ending Amaranta's work on her shroud and the letters she would collect from her neighbors to give them to the dead or mysterious rise to Heaven of Remedios the Beauty, the girl who possessed the beauty of such disastrous power that no man in the world could resist it. One afternoon in March, she mysteriously rose to heaven on Brabant sheets and she was "lost forever... in the upper atmosphere where not even the highest-flying birds of memory could reach her."
Book Review: Absolute masterpiece and a must-read
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't really think this book needs my recommendation. It's a legend by itself already and I doubt what I have to say will influence your opinion more than the book when you actually read it. Still, I'll try to say what to expect and what not to expect.
Most readers don't need this warning, but some will probably catch the book because it's "well known and great". Remember, this is a classical novel, not some action one. If you need action and adventure, go elsewhere, just don't try to plow over the book and then give it a one-star rating - you have been warned.
Warnings aside, for a short description. The book is actually a case-study of one family's lives in a small village "on the edge of nowhere" (supposedly in South America, on the verge of the XIX and XX century, but this is not something you want to attach too much attention to, since the village is actually a sort of "neverland" and its geographical location is, I think, only due to the fact that Marquez felt better describing places that felt 'nearer' to him).
The book is actually a philosophical work, best described I think as a study of situations when a human being, though seemingly surrounded by friends, relatives and even loved ones, is actually alone. Hence the title - it's actually a study of solitude without solitude, a solitude among people. A study made by a brilliant writer, in a breathtaking style which makes the book read like a thriller. Marquez builds the magical place that is the village very meticulously, making you almost want to seek out this neverland in reality.
The main value of this book, its characters, atmosphere and the philosophy is not something you can describe in a review. You will just have to find it out for yourself. Which I greatly urge you to.
Book Review: I Can't Stop Thinking About It
Summary: 5 Stars
I had to read this book for my English class. I didn't know anything about it other than it's legendary status. As I read it, I enjoyed it. It took me time to get through it and for me, it was not the kind of book I could sit down and read a page or two during commercials of the TV show I was watching. But more than I enjoyed it while reading, I enjoyed it even more afterwards, as strange as it sounds.
Since finishing the book over a month ago, I am constantly thinking about it and being reminded of it by daily life, which to me is the mark of a truly impressive novel. I really can't wait to go back and reread it, something I don't normally do, especially with books of this length.
Garcia Marquez's writing style was something new for me, and I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's a great book to read for school because there is huge literary value. And even more than that it's a story that everyone can relate to in some ways. Maybe the thing about Garcia Marquez'z writing is that he doesn't come right out say everything, leaving a good portion of the meaning up to the reader's own interpretation. Sometimes I feel like authors try to do this to make their books seem deep, which just makes the book seem pretentious, but I did not feel that way at all from this book. I think every person who reads it will have a different interpretation of the subtleties. And I think your interpretation will change over time, which is why I'm excited to reread this in another 10 years and see what's changed.
Bottom line: Very cool book and worth reading. Don't be intimidated by it's length and while some parts are slow, everything is integral. It's a beautiful piece of work that can only be fully appreciated if read cover to cover.
Book Review: set upon the luminous pillars of passion and tragedy
Summary: 5 Stars
A mythical town in South America (Macondo) is the setting for an intergenerational history, pervaded by pathos, sexuality, and the dark comedy of futility. This is the chronicle of the Aureliano dynasty: one hundred years of lust, continuity, and then, fatality - all clothed in surreal, symbolic language and images.
The thematic of solitude underlies the tumult and calamities in the mundane events of this history - the solitude of that which will be forgotten. The characters are together in this isolated town; and yet, they are separated by their beauty, idiocy, or trauma. The silences and solitude which result are the glue that adheres this amazing story together. You can forget about involved plot and developed characterizations - they are secondary to the generational repetitions, the circular time flow, and the fantastically incredible events on these pages.
This can be very dense reading at times - the symbolic wisdom, the fables and superstitions that give this narrative it's ferment and texture; but, the allegorical structure does completely mesmerize. There is a languid, compelling flow to the narration - time seems irrelevant while seemingly impossible events of the supernatural occur frequently, chronicled as if they were part of the everyday life in Macondo.
Marquez, the consummate prose-poet, sits this narrative upon the twin pillars of passion and tragedy. After 40 years, this tale has aged well. Given its "legs", it will still be read by many future generations.
Most highly recommended.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
The Cloud Reckoner
Book Review: Nothing short of great.
Summary: 5 Stars
The novel opens with one of literature's greatest leads "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad.." and never lets up through the four hundred some odd pages that follow. People will often say about an author "There's nobody like them.." and that's especially true for Garcia Marquez. This isn't a traditional novel, and I can't guarantee you'll love it. Like a lot of great Latin America fiction, it just isn't for some people. However, if you love Latin American writers and for some reason haven't read Marquz's masterpiece, I recommend you do so as soon as possible. The novels plot, in so much as it has a plot, is documenting a family, the Buendia's, over a period of one hundred years. The family is imperfect and dysfunctional to say the least, but are also very powerfully described, and by the end you will know them so well you'll feel as if you know them personally.
I would also recommend getting the Everyman's library version of this book. It is well bound, beautiful and will hold together. And I don't know if other versions have this or not, but it has a Buendia family tree at the beginning, which is helpful for telling apart characters, as their names are often nearly identical. As one review put it, it leaves you with a pleasant exhaustion that only very great novels provide. There are very few books I've enjoyed as much as this one, and I recommend you at least give it a shot. Even if you put it down for a while, I'm willing to bet you will be drawn back to it before long. It's interesting and well written, with all of the magic you'd expect from a Latin American great, and it's definitely worth a read.