A Spellbinding Fairy Tale 2010-07-09

Reviewer: w.s.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is my all time favorite book. It is a brilliant showcase for Marquez's powerful imagination and genius for storytelling. I won't go into any plot details because I believe this is the kind of book that needs to be experienced instead of explained. I will say, however, that I responded on a deep level to the vivid language and emotionalism of this novel. Marquez literally paints pictures with words, creating a story that is both comic and tragic, romantic and heartbreaking, surreal and earthy. Marquez's voice is articulate as well as accessible, making it seem as if were are sitting down to hear a family patriarch tell a colorful fairy tale. There is a great deal of symbolism and fantasy in this book, but the main running theme throughout is - as you may have guessed from the title - solitude. Despite the novel's surrealism, the heart of the novel is something any human being can relate to. All of the individual characters (and there are a myriad of them) deal with some form of loneliness at certain points. The Buendia family is often described as possessing a solitary gene, and while some of them are forced to face life alone through adverse circumstances, others choose solitude because of a sense of alienation, loss, or insecurity. The Buendia family spend most of their time together yet, as Ursula tragically points out at one point, none of them truly understand each other. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is famed for being a part of the magical realism canon, but I believe the true gift of this novel is that its a beautiful, stirring, complex portrait of family and the existential loneliness of the human condition.

I loved it, but I can see why others don't 2010-07-07

Reviewer: -B-

Just an interesting connection I found between my English and Spanish class:
No hay mal que dure cien años. (Literal: No evil shall last 100 years; English: Nothing bad lasts forever.)

1. Writing Style/ Readability: The writing style is what truly makes this a five star book to me. Not the plot or the characters or even the depth of it. Granted, the original was written in Spanish, but I don't think that too much was lost in translation. If I ever become fluent in Spanish (and I'm crazy about this beautiful language!), I'll happily read the original as well. Marquez's style (or the translator's, however you want to view it) is very smooth and enchanting, and appeals to my childlike fascination with anything magical. Oh, and there's actually a lot of humor in the book if you're paying attention.

2. Plot - lots of interesting stuff going on, but there's not one "true" storyline to follow, as it seems like a never ending list of random happenings. Basically, you're following the lives of a family from generation to generation, getting to know each family member's personal story, some more than others. People die mysteriously or go insane every chapter or so, and it's tough to predict what's going to happen next. Marquez's foreshadowing at the beginning of the book is clever; he sneaks in lines about the far future to make you do a double take ("years later, when Aureliano faced the firing squad..."). The mystery of Melquiades is the common fragment that frames the entire story. I actually wasn't that impressed by the ending, but to each his own.

3. Characters - let me just tell you right off that they're almost entirely unrelatable. They lack any real personality and I felt no emotional connection to them, especially since they tend to come and go in the story. (the exception of this being Ursula) However, I think this could also be viewed as an intentional exaggeration by the author...The only two "real" emotions that the Buendias have are lust and loneliness, which, in my opinion, are two of the strongest emotions that a human being can have. Lust is such a primal desire and it's obvious how much it still has hold of us even in this modern world. Loneliness is a more complex emotion, but I think that anyone can empathize with the conflicting feelings of wanting to be with someone so much, yet also being afraid of rejection.

4. Overall Originality: Yes yes yes. That's all I'm going to say about that.

5. Value (was it thought provoking): For me, personally? Not really. The ending, though, was a tad depressing in that it left me with the message of "life is a cycle, we all die, everything you do is pointless" which is why I tend to avoid books about philosophy because sometimes thinking too much about the universe makes me think as if there's nothing that truly matters because mattering is nothing after all. And now I've made myself depressed. Moving on.

6. Enjoyment - this book was entertaining because of all its intricacies and twists and turns. It also really inspired me to write, which usually only happens when a book is fantastic or awful.

The Bottom Line: read it because it's different from anything else you'll ever read

One hundred years of solitude 2010-05-29

Reviewer: Christine R. Bennett

I have just started reading this book, but already I love the language of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's like you can see, feel& smell everything . Looking forward to many evenings in bed reading this book. It's not one that you want to rush.

Filled with Great Imagery 2010-05-22

Reviewer: J. Randon

This is probably one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It was my favorite several years ago, and I recently bought a new copy. I've read it several times; it never gets old. I have heard in the past that the storyline can be very confusing at times, but I didn't have a problem with following along. His style is very unique; it seems disjointed and jumbled at first glance, but as the reader continues everything falls into place.

The imagery and metaphoric language throughout was especially fantastic. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has a way with words that makes you think. His use of magical realism is flawless. The book creates impossible situations throughout that for some reason seem plausible in relation to what is happening in the story. Some sentences are incredibly simple, and others may make you go back and reread. Magical realism can be very difficult to incorporate in a work of fiction properly, and I believe he has both produced a wonderful work of art and great instruction on how to do so in one sitting.

If you've never read this book before, you owe it to yourself (if you're an avid reader) to check it out. Chances are very good you'll be glad you did.

A Student Review 2010-04-13

Reviewer: Allie

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the tale of the Buendia family and the town of Maconda, whose history is as enchanting as it is enthralling. It's the story of gypsies and scientists, banana plantations and dancing Italians. This is the birth of magical realism: a story that's entirely absurd and inventive, and at the same time entirely true.

The writing is as magical as the story; it's easy to see why Marquez won a Nobel Prize. The book flows beautifully together, but at the same time the words can be so spectacular it's almost difficult to breathe.

Do expect to be put off a little by the nature of the story. Some people may even be offended by the seemingly careless disregard of incest, suicide, and sexuality in the book. Some of the events are somewhat bizarre and disturbing, but they tend to take second place to the writing and overall emotion of the book.

The only other issue readers may have with the book is that the actual plot is not always clear. Names tend to be used multiple times, making it difficult to follow the story. But often times, the sense of ambiguity actually enhances the experience of reading the novel.

This is a book meant to be experienced more than it is meant to be read. You have to be prepared to abandon your sense of reality; over thinking can actually complicate things. It's easy to become frustrated with the seeming repetitiveness of the tale, but the minute you let your mind wander, everything, from the flying carpets to the ramblings of a gypsy, makes sense.

At the same time, it's very easy to become emotionally attached to the story. The characters seem to effortlessly gain your trust one moment, only to abandon it the next. The choices they make seem to affect you as if you knew the characters personally. That's the magic of Marquez's writing. The characters may as well be alive; because everything they do changes the way you live.

All in all, a simply extraordinary novel.