botosmr's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Sexual content, War, and Incest
Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Body shaming, Child abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abandonment and Abortion
cosmicpasta's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Antisemitism
jimmy_ready2read's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
2.75
I understand that this is a critically acclaimed classic, and I do agree that the writing style is unique. It’s more that I think it was a little too heavy on the metaphors and nonsense for me personally. I wouldn’t ward people off from reading a classic but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest
Minor: Rape
kjf524's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Rape, War, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Violence
glowworms's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Forced institutionalization
tashba's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Child death, War, and Sexism
Minor: Racism
sullenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nothing could’ve prepared for this book.
without much knowledge about one hundred years of solitude nor the writer, i ventured into an unknown world of magical realism and latin american literature. i didn’t have high hopes for this book despite being a widely praised one. to be honest, i took me twice read of the first chapter to fully get myself interested and after the second read everything went smooth.
i don’t think i’ve read a book full of unlikable characters like this one. everyone’s own flaws clung onto them till the day they die and are even passed down to their successors named after them. the little choices they make in life become a huge part in their endless cycle of distress and sufferings yet it seemed that not a single one of them learned from that. caught up in their own dramas and dilemmas in life, they get stuck in isolation and solitude countless of times. it’s written in such a beautiful and tender manner that despite of the revolting and heinous actions of the characters, you’ll find yourself turning to the next page.
without much knowledge about one hundred years of solitude nor the writer, i ventured into an unknown world of magical realism and latin american literature. i didn’t have high hopes for this book despite being a widely praised one. to be honest, i took me twice read of the first chapter to fully get myself interested and after the second read everything went smooth.
i don’t think i’ve read a book full of unlikable characters like this one. everyone’s own flaws clung onto them till the day they die and are even passed down to their successors named after them. the little choices they make in life become a huge part in their endless cycle of distress and sufferings yet it seemed that not a single one of them learned from that. caught up in their own dramas and dilemmas in life, they get stuck in isolation and solitude countless of times. it’s written in such a beautiful and tender manner that despite of the revolting and heinous actions of the characters, you’ll find yourself turning to the next page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, War, and Incest
Moderate: Child death and Death
bites_of_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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 finally read Márquez' most recognized novel and now I understand why it is called one of the most influential books of Latin American literature and culture.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gun violence, and Incest
bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
3.75
(Spanish follows English)
(Read in Spanish)
A classic for a reason, though not an easily classifiable or interpretable one.
Aided by beautiful language and imagery, the book elevates the story of multiple generations of the Buendía family to something mythological or biblical one second, and then goes back to basically slice-of-life the next.
While the messaging and symbolism is a bit abstract and can feel muddled sometimes, the emotional moments still hit hard in a very straightforward manner that wraps you in the tragic loop of the family's history and keeps you invested in their repeating fates.
Some aspects of the book might have not aged very well (the pedophilia, incest and sexual violence are especially uncomfortable) but overall the book has an almost whimsical feel that makes it timeless, and politico-social commentary that makes it poignant.
......
Un clásico con razón, pero no uno fácil de interpretar (o leer).
Ayudado por su lenguaje e imágenes de gran belleza, el libro eleva la historia de varias generaciones de la familia Buendía a algo casi mitológico o bíblico en un segundo, y vuelve a la cotidianeidad en el siguiente.
El mensaje y simbología son un poco abstractos y difusos, pero los momentos emocionales son intensos de una forma muy directa, envolviéndote en el bucle trágico de la historia de la familia y manteniéndote involucrado emocionalmente en sus destinos repetitivos.
Algunos aspectos del libro no envejecieron muy bien (la pedofilia, incesto y violencia sexual fueron bastante incómodos, en particular) pero el libro sigue teniendo un ambiente casi de cuento que lo mantiene eterno, y crítica socio-política que lo mantiene actual.
(Read in Spanish)
A classic for a reason, though not an easily classifiable or interpretable one.
Aided by beautiful language and imagery, the book elevates the story of multiple generations of the Buendía family to something mythological or biblical one second, and then goes back to basically slice-of-life the next.
While the messaging and symbolism is a bit abstract and can feel muddled sometimes, the emotional moments still hit hard in a very straightforward manner that wraps you in the tragic loop of the family's history and keeps you invested in their repeating fates.
Some aspects of the book might have not aged very well (the pedophilia, incest and sexual violence are especially uncomfortable) but overall the book has an almost whimsical feel that makes it timeless, and politico-social commentary that makes it poignant.
......
Un clásico con razón, pero no uno fácil de interpretar (o leer).
Ayudado por su lenguaje e imágenes de gran belleza, el libro eleva la historia de varias generaciones de la familia Buendía a algo casi mitológico o bíblico en un segundo, y vuelve a la cotidianeidad en el siguiente.
El mensaje y simbología son un poco abstractos y difusos, pero los momentos emocionales son intensos de una forma muy directa, envolviéndote en el bucle trágico de la historia de la familia y manteniéndote involucrado emocionalmente en sus destinos repetitivos.
Algunos aspectos del libro no envejecieron muy bien (la pedofilia, incesto y violencia sexual fueron bastante incómodos, en particular) pero el libro sigue teniendo un ambiente casi de cuento que lo mantiene eterno, y crítica socio-política que lo mantiene actual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Classism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death
ballista_2003's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-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? No
3.0
I’m being so generous with this rating regarding my own experiences with this book. I’m only giving it more than 2.5 stars because when I think 2.5 I think “meh”. This book was by no means just “average.”
Before you pick this monster up please know that this book is DENSE. It is information overload from the first sentence, twisting and turning timelines with seemingly no rhyme nor reason, and so SO many people with the exact same names.
With a quick google search, you can find upwards of 50 different video analyses of this book that are done super well- my experience was clearly not the same as these peoples.
This book quite literally killed my reading addiction.
Honestly, as much as I hate to say it (because this book was absolute torture to finish) it demands a reread from me in maybe 10-20 years when I’m older and wiser and can get past the obscene amount of graphic incest this book has- because it was hard for me to get over that (also pedophilia.)
The themes in this book are really complex, but the overall summation I can give you was said by Roro Reads;
“The Buendia family is doomed to repeat themselves in a solitude of their own making”
This book was dense, confusing, every character could be hated for one reason or another and frankly I think I’m just not smart enough to enjoy and understand it to its full potential right now.
If you pick this up- good luck.
Before you pick this monster up please know that this book is DENSE. It is information overload from the first sentence, twisting and turning timelines with seemingly no rhyme nor reason, and so SO many people with the exact same names.
With a quick google search, you can find upwards of 50 different video analyses of this book that are done super well- my experience was clearly not the same as these peoples.
This book quite literally killed my reading addiction.
Honestly, as much as I hate to say it (because this book was absolute torture to finish) it demands a reread from me in maybe 10-20 years when I’m older and wiser and can get past the obscene amount of graphic incest this book has- because it was hard for me to get over that (also pedophilia.)
The themes in this book are really complex, but the overall summation I can give you was said by Roro Reads;
“The Buendia family is doomed to repeat themselves in a solitude of their own making”
This book was dense, confusing, every character could be hated for one reason or another and frankly I think I’m just not smart enough to enjoy and understand it to its full potential right now.
If you pick this up- good luck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Pedophilia
Moderate: War, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death