Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Cien años de soledad

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez

85 reviews

sineadw9's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.5

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and how quickly I worked through it. The town of Macondo, and the Buendias’, intertwine and come to life in a compelling, magical way - I feel close to them. I can picture myself in their home, in the town. In so many ways it’s a tragedy but it unfurls so naturally that it doesn’t feel that way. I couldn’t keep track of the Aurelianos by the end but it didn’t really matter. This sort of reads like a long-exposure photo. It’s so rich and dense that I’ll probably reread it at some point. I actually found the writing to be quite fast-paced.

Lives up to the hype? Read it if you’re up for an ever-unwinding family saga and some OG magical realism, don’t read it if you get frustrated keeping track of names or by problematic protagonists 😂 not for everyone

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missmarguerita's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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armatic's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a very difficult book to rate. It accomplished so much and conveyed so much in interesting and allegorical ways, but without all the extra extrapolation and reading it as a straight story, it's a bit messy, and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. So the allegory was fascinating, as well as the magical realism and quality of the writing, but the actual characters and plot were so-so, and it was also frequently disturbing.

I also needed to read this with the family tree open at all times, and recommend doing the same. I also recommend reading the Sparks Notes chapter summaries either as you read, or at the end. It really helped me delve deeper into the meaning of the bizarre incidents that happen in this. I do recommend it, but go in prepared to approach it with some tools in your belt!

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taylorjayne's review against another edition

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No absolutely not. I cannot read about literal children who's bodies are sold and who are married when they literally don't know how to clean themselves. Where's the brain bleach? DNF'd

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midwifereading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

What does GGM smoke when he's writing, because, 😳😳😳. I almost DNF'd this one too, because it's just too much. But, it's a book club book, and I really wanted to say I finished it. And I did it. Listening to the audio on 1.5x speed. 😬

Ultimately, he's a brilliant and beautiful writer, but his subject matter is disturbing, his characters impossible to like, and his style is very difficult to follow at times.

That said, I pulled up the Wikipedia page outlining the plot and characters, which really helped me follow the story much more easily, especially because all the characters have the same three names!!! That family tree came in handy.

This story wanders all over the place, and is supposedly an allegory of sorts about Columbian society, classes, elites, and politics. No wonder I don't get it. I know nothing about Columbia. Although I now wish I did know something!

There is some stunning visual imagery, especially surrounding death. (Yellow butterflies, any one?) Th characters are vivid, but don't quite feel real, though I assume they're not supposed to.

Anyway, this book is enough to tell me I probably don't like multi-generational family sagas, because never want to read anything like it again.

100 Years of Solitude may be considered an international masterpiece, but couldn't it have been told without all the incest and pedophilia? Maybe?

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