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1orne's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Slavery and Abortion
kimby213'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
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
1957s'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Dementia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alfredesin'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
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, and Abortion
sineadw9's review against another edition
4.5
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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
reading_christine's review against another edition
3.0
Minor: Animal cruelty
oliviareese's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
mayg's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
storyorc's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Generous helpings of surreal phenomena keep things unpredictable and enchanting despite the page length, imbuing even daily occurrences like fighting ants or embroidering with a gravity that echoes through generations. The distant, light-hearted style of narration and delightful turns of phrase are the honey that makes the medicine go down.
The overall impression, however, is realistic enough to provoke existential dread. The Buendías do not collapse in a linear tale of corruption and lethargy. Treasures buried by one member may come in clutch for a descendant, a son might coast by on the prestige of his family name, and people are happy more often than wretched - or, if not happy, then at least getting on with their lives.
Just when you are relaxing into a moment of joy or peace in the story, the narrator tosses in a remark about how this person is doomed or this course of action will bring ruin. Sometimes, it is misleading, but not consistently enough to discount. The ground is always shifting. The sense of hands closing around a character's neck often makes this book quite the page-turner, even when the neck belongs to a very (VERY) flawed person. In uncanny mimicry of actual family, the story cultivates empathy and even loyalty for awful characters simply by showing, from birth and before, why and how they came to be.
There's also something very uncomfortable yet relatable about how this huge, sprawling family who live and die on top of each other in this house perpetually stumble into self-absorption and fail to understand one another. They get close, then drift or fall short again, then try again. Very human.
Life in Macondo is relentless and defies not only narrative catharsis but even cause and effect. The Buendía family history is one that refuses to be reduced to a simple warning against modernity or selfishness to read and pat yourself on the back and then forget. It sticks in the throat.
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty
moka_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty