Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Honderd jaar eenzaamheid by Gabriel García Márquez

47 reviews

michaelion's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The most confusing part of this book is the names. But! It's clear that was intentional. Everything else? Pretty lovely. (I don't mean that literally for every aspect. Don't cancel me.)

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isarza's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

Siempre disfruto mucho dem realismo mágico. 
Intenté leer este libro hace muchos años y me exasperó el hecho de que todos se llamaban igual. Esta segunda vez disfruté mucho de la primera parte del libro y pude entender que sus destinos estaban sellados por los nombres, estaban condenados a repetirse.
Me gustó mucho cómo se manejó el tiempo como algo cíclico a pesar de que generalmente odio ese tipo de historias porque creo que forzar a los personajes a terminar en el mismo lugar en el que empezaron estanca su crecimiento y es un retroceso en la mayoría de los casos.
Sin embargo creo que es un libro DEMASIADO largo. La primera parte es muy entretenida pero los personajes de la segunda mitad no son tan interesantes como los de la primera. 
Fernanda es insufrible y sus hijos también, la historia decayó a partir de que ella llegó.

Además de que todo el incesto y la pedofilia me parecieron sumamente desagradables. Esa fue la razón de que no pudiera llegar ni a la mitad del libro la primera vez y saber que es el tema más recurrente en el libro. García Marquez te lo quiere poner como que es el amor y que el último Aureliano terminó con todo porque sí fue concebido con amor pero fue resultado de una relación incestuosa. Es el segundo libro de García Marquez que leo que tiene esos temas y hace que me de miedo leer más de él porque qué perro asco. Espero que se lo hayan comido las hormigas también a él por viejo cochino

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zendthyl's review against another edition

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4.25


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bootrat's review against another edition

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

3.0

I found this book to be a very strange read. At times I loved it, and at times I found it completely indecipherable and very hard going. I lost track of which character was which, which time period we were in, and where we were within the story quite frequently. However I found it really interesting and intriguing.

I think the fact that I listened to the audiobook made it even more confusing, as I couldn't flick back to previous pages when I lost the thread of the story.

Overall I think I enjoyed this book, but it was quite confusing. I may come back to it and try reading a physical copy, as I think it has potential to be a book I really like.

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eliss02's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've read this for an university exam, I despised it so much it made me sick a few times but I constantly think about it. Despite me disliking this book it was one of those I've printed on my mind.

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aiona's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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2treads's review against another edition

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

4.0

...because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.

The fact that this book's main focus is only on the male offspring of Jose Arcadio Buendía is irksome, although she does get a chapter that outlines her decline 😤. Especially when Ursula, the matriarch, has gone above and beyond in ensuring that the family is provided for. She is also clever and aware, and is not afraid to put herself forward to defend her children and grandchildren. She deserved chapters to focus on all she did and endured. 

This obsession that Marquez has with showing men and their sexual proclivities is alarming, and as my husband says, it could very well be he means it in a tongue-in-cheek, darkly humorous manner for affect. I remain unconvinced.

However, what is undeniable is that he is a writer that has complete control over how this expansive yet contained story unfolds, and even as it may seem like mindless wading for some readers, there will be others that will get swept along for what is a captivating, awesome, disturbing tale of a family and their tragic legacy.

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borninexile's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.75


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ruthmoog's review against another edition

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It's weird and boring, and since I wanted to enjoy books again, I had to stop!

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elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring mysterious 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

3.0

Wow. Folks, I have got THOUGHTS on this book. Up to the last two chapters, I would not have said I was enjoying this book, in spite of being amazed by the undeniable brilliance of the writing. The plot seems to ramble all over the place, with events that I expected to be ultimately climactic in nature being nearly thrown away in the narrative. On top of that there were lots of scenes and events that made me feel deeply "squicky" (check the trigger warnings on this book before you read it, because there are some doozies). However, just when I would nearly make up my mind to stop reading, I would encounter a phrase or a piece of imagery that was so breathtaking that it would keep me reading. And then, as the book ended in a whirlwind of revelation and fulfilled prophesy, I was so glad that I finished the story. 

Even so, I don't think I can honestly give the book more than three stars, even for the brilliance of the final chapters. I don't think it makes up for the unnecessarily graphic descriptions of the Buendia family's hereditary vices.

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