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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
midwifereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Ultimately, he's a brilliant and beautiful writer, but his subject matter is disturbing, his characters impossible to like, and his style is very difficult to follow at times.
That said, I pulled up the Wikipedia page outlining the plot and characters, which really helped me follow the story much more easily, especially because all the characters have the same three names!!! That family tree came in handy.
This story wanders all over the place, and is supposedly an allegory of sorts about Columbian society, classes, elites, and politics. No wonder I don't get it. I know nothing about Columbia. Although I now wish I did know something!
There is some stunning visual imagery, especially surrounding death. (Yellow butterflies, any one?) Th characters are vivid, but don't quite feel real, though I assume they're not supposed to.
Anyway, this book is enough to tell me I probably don't like multi-generational family sagas, because never want to read anything like it again.
100 Years of Solitude may be considered an international masterpiece, but couldn't it have been told without all the incest and pedophilia? Maybe?
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Have some other resources handy to help you understand it.haleybird's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder
theincrediblemaja's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, and War
nachtvlucht'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
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Trafficking, and Murder
destiny_jay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
gagne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Blood and Gaslighting
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Fatphobia, Dementia, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Catholicismsaltycoffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
elizlizabeth'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? Yes
3.0
In the end that's what this is, a clever book, marvelously crafted with exquisite prose, but deeply disturbing and depressing. I do not agree with GGM's worldview here and the whole Oedipus Complex trope seemed to point at Shakespearean levels of tragedy, but where my man Willy didn't take himself too seriously, GGM does this sad boi act which made me dislike his books in the first place. Appreciate the art, but won't be re-reading it soon, nor recommending it to nobody.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Torture, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
catapocalypse'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First, I can't believe how seldom its humor is brought up by others! There's a lot of focus placed on the heavy, cynical, serious elements, but there's also many absurd and silly and tongue-in-cheek and clever elements!
Even while mixing all those things, García Márquez subtly shifts the feel of the narrative as it progresses. Mind, this is an entirely character-driven story, with little to no real plot beyond the lifespan of the Buendía family and their town of Macondo. Folks who prefer plot-driven stories may find this book incredibly boring! But as time passes, the family, town, and narrative itself seem to shift and mature in a way. The beginnings of all three feature many fantastic elements. There are flights of fancy viewed with an almost childlike wonder. Time feels more sprawling.
But as things progress, they become more grounded in reality (though never entirely), and more serious events and concerns pop up. The little town of Macondo starts without even a mayor, but gradually sees Colonel Aureliano Buendía's war, the influence of foreign colonizing powers, and the high tension of the banana company worker strikes. Time gradually speeds up to the hurricane pace of the ending.
Across this lifespan of the Buendía family and Macondo, there's a lot going on, and García Márquez brilliantly connects all of it together. Even fanciful elements are not careless. I feel it has high reread value, and might even consider an immediate reread if I didn't have so much else to get to right now.
I do have some warnings. While the narrative is fairly linear in time, there are some overlapping points where events are retraced when the focus has moved between characters. This isn't so bad, so long as you can keep track of the many similarly-named ones. I recommend an edition that provides a family tree, like that from Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
There are also many Content Warnings, some rather significant, so please check out those listed for the book on its entry!
The prevalence of some of this, especially of the incest and problematic relationships between adults and minors, will definitely turn off some readers, which is valid! I was conflicted on its inclusion the entire way through, but ultimately, I think it ties into the presentation of the Buendía family as being deeply flawed. Let's face it, Úrsula was probably right about everything all along.
I'm sure there are even further layers I'm not fathoming. I do think that this book fully deserves its status as a classic, and I will absolutely read more Gabriel García Márquez.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Vomit, and Cannibalism