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cosmicpasta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Dementia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Antisemitism
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love multigenerational stories and this one goes through multiple generations of the Buendía family as they live through the establishment of Macondo, war, colonization, technological advances, and more. This book is deeply rooted in Márquez' culture and the history of Colombia, which can also translate to several parts of Latin America.
The magical realism was incredible, certain sections had the subtlest uses of it while others were impactful and they almost provoked a visceral emotional reaction. My mom's family has a house in Mexico that was filled with people when I was little, but slowly, as my mom and uncles began to live their lives outside of that house and after my grandma passed away, the house started to become empty and less cared for. The Buendía house mirrors the what happens within the family and what's happening in the community, people leaving, marriages, war, etc. The house is either clean and with additions for all the people in the house, or almost empty and deteriorating due to disuse and abuse.
There are so many things to explore about this book, it's one that I might revisit later in life since I'm sure I'll find more things that will resonate. While I give this book 5 stars, there are plenty of things that were not enjoyable as well and they all would fall into multiple content warnings, among them: sexual violence, war, child neglect and abuse, incest, and more.
I'd recommend this to anyone who'd like to learn more about classic Latin American literature, magical realism, anyone who loves multigenerational stories with a variety of very interesting characters, and also if you love drama, this one is full of it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
gabyyinz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail