One Hundred Years of
Solitude
Gabriel Garcia
Marquez
417 pages, read it
paperback, although I hear printed numbers very on edition.
One Hundred Years of
Solitude follow the story of the Buendia family and the rise and fall of the
fictional town Macondo. When we are
first whisked away we are planted at the feet of Jose Arcadio Buendia and his
wife Ursula right after they establish Macondo with several other
families. The world is filled with
mystery and magic in the unknown as gypsies bring unfathomable inventions to
the isolated Macondo. As the town ages
we are shown the town through other members of the family and while the magic
seems to remain in places and old blood of Macondo, tragedy unfolds as the
modern world slowly reaches Macondo altering the way of everyone's life and the
town itself forever.
While the book is
laden with themes, politics, historical context, and symbolism; I wanted to
simply overlook that as I read it and let it filter in as it came in from an
unrivaled prose presented by Marquez.
The result was that this was a very melancholy but enjoyable tale that
was very introspective. From a
presentation standpoint, Marquez decided to not follow any single character
from the Buendia household but to let the family freely roam and tell the story
of Macondo as it told the story of itself.
This made the story very different from most stories that I read and I
loved it.
I would suggest this
to anybody but it should be noted that it's written in a very long style that
is incredibly detailed and at some points, during some of the slower portions,
can be painful, especially if some of the periods are a bore for the reader. There are a few of these moments peppered
throughout, but even those set the reader up for the next delivery and deserve
your attention and patience. To anyone
looking to read this I would suggest not reading the extensive amount of
synopsis of the story and simply plunge in and let it unfold for you as I
did. Also, in the front of the book
there is a small family tree, and while it is convenient to simply flip to it,
I would suggest printing out a copy and keeping it in the book.
Highly rated.
Highly enjoyed.
Highly celebrated.
Highly recommended.
Highly climbed the
list of my favorite books to the top.
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