Scan barcode
spriteluver's review against another edition
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Of course this book can be incredibly hard and uncomfortable to read, what with the incest and weird thing about breasts and big penises. But the author has so much psychoanalysis in his characters—mainly the men, but sometimes the women get some insight into themselves—that makes it worth it (and I think psychoanalysis specifically, Freud vibes). War, capitalism, and colonialism, with their effects, perpetrators, and victims are all explored, as well as people who lose themselves to their vices (I do think “the cardinal sins” play a huge role in the metaphors within the text)...Marquez creates such a rich tapestry of the world’s truths and horrors hidden within a singular character to the whole town. Layers upon layers of symbolism seep in every letter and space of this book, which I always love.
It’s just amazing to see both the degradation of the Buendias family and the perpetual cycle they all go through, even when they can act so differently from one another. To see what moves each Jose Arcadio or Aureliano to action and how that relates to the world’s progression and its regression. Each chapter is sooo dense with meaning, it’s hard to really write a review that doesn’t discuss what tidbits I gathered from the whole thing. I have to say, I REALLY loved that each chapter was about 20 pages long because it made it a lot easier to digest. There are obvious flaws within the book regarding prejudices and gratuitous scenes, but I think it all takes part in the punch in the mouth the ending gives us all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Pedophilia
Moderate: Rape
kimby213's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
There's an absolutely unreal amount of characters with the same name. Pay close attention or you will get lost 😅
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
badbadwolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
elsieols's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? Yes
4.5
why do i feel like crying over the demise of this family line and all the little forgotten details? even the idea of francisco the man’s songs being forgotten made me so sad :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
regenherz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, and Abandonment
reverie_and_books's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
One Hundred Years of Solitude put South-American Literature on the map and awarded Gabriel García Márquez the Nobel Prize. It revolves around family, the circularity of time and unavoidable outcomes. And solitude.
Because a century of cards and experience had taught her that the history of the family was a machine with unavoidable repetitions, a turning wheel that would have gone on spilling into eternity were it not for the progressive and irremediable wearing of the axle.
Márquez wrote the story like his grandmother used to: weaving the unreal into reality. This Magical Realism feels very natural and enhances the story. There are ghosts; there are butterflies following a man wherever he goes; there are people who die multiple times. There are mysterious parchments which one day will reveal themselves…
The story is absurd and full of situational comedy that made me laugh out loud. The story follows the Buendiá family over approximately one hundred years through the throws of civil wars and social uproars, incest and jealousy, love and solitude. The family founded the little town of Macondo, a place that is almost a character in itself. It will rise, it might fall. It is confronted with changes from the outside world, like post or railroads.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is an adventure one probably shouldn’t dissect too much — and I could go on….
Often mentioned is the big family tree containing tons of men called Aureliano or Arcadio. It serves a purpose, promise. And it’s doable with taking a few notes on the go.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, and War
r0sie_33's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Rape
katanai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
“she became human in her solitude” damn
okay. so many thoughts but also none at all? um. when i went in to this book i definitely wasn’t expecting such dark elements such as pedophilia, incest & rape. author’s writing is so lengthy im unsure of why it took so long to get to the point. a yapper for sure. it was so wordy & not in a way that’s all the way enjoyable although you will get lost in the sauce. at the beginning, all the different ppl but sharing such similar names ground my gears bc i got confused to who was who. i can see why it’s some ppl’s favorite books but also out of all books why this one? i get it but it doesn’t mean i have to like it. in short, a novel that tells of the worst that humans can be as well our stubbornness that leads to solitude in which do we even matter at all? anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, and War
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
saturn_rage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
2.25
Okay, so Remedios the Beauty is the only saving grace of this thing. That, and some really interesting ideas, love the concept of reading your past and present as your world ends around you. But, holy shit, we need to stop tolerating shit like this. This is a book about MEN written by a MAN. The women are not characters, they are only things to be fucked, assaulted, or confounded by. Furthermore, there are far too many age-inappropriate relationships here (any, really), and the “excuse” that “it was normal at the time” doesn’t fly. Again, there’s so neat ideas to be found here, but it’s always just bogged down by horrendous shit that the novel and its author seem gleeful to include. This should be better, but that would require a different approach to all of it.
Also, I only found out halfway through this reading that Netflix is adapting the book into a series, so that explains why it was in such high demand.
Also, I only found out halfway through this reading that Netflix is adapting the book into a series, so that explains why it was in such high demand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Rape
Moderate: Murder and War
maia313's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Really enjoyed this book, can see why it won the novel prize for literature. Took me a very long time to get through it and found it challenging at points, definitely helped to refer back to the family tree and found that as you go through the book, the names become easier. Have never read anything in this style before, found it a really interesting read, some beautiful lines.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Sexual harassment, and War