Reviews with content warning for Incest - Trăm Năm Cô Đơn

I remain conflicted about Márquez as an author. On the one hand he is a skilled storyteller that builds comprehensive worlds and complex characters, as in this familial epic. I enjoy the magical realism elements, and find his writing captivating. On the other hand, the unconventional romantic relationships (and here, outright incest) are really challenging. As much as I might like a character it’s difficult to be on anyone’s side when they are going after their sistercousinauntmother…

All told this is an immersive, engaging story that spans generations of a family in a unique setting, with compelling narration. But parts of it give me the ick.

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toadie's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow. Definitely a weird one. I get why many people don’t like it but I felt hooked until the very end. Instead of focusing on one character, it follows a family line from start to end from a third person perspective. The reader is an outsider looking in at the misfortunes of this family. I found each character interesting (but why did so many have the same name?) and their motives for their actions so bizarre. Big warning about

soooo much pedophillia and incest, but that was intentionally part of the family’s curse.

I really liked the little world Garcia Marquez creates and I felt swept along with it. It immediately reminded me of some of Salman Rushdie’s works, specifically Victory City.

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abhi_vijay94's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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sineadw9's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

sjksjksjk's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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j_drozd's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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