Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Cent'anni Di Solitudine by Gabriel García Márquez

27 reviews

kallsypage's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Whew, what a journey. It was my first time reading this classic. I enjoyed most of it and I appreciate its literacy genius although it can be a bit difficult to read due to some of the content (see content warnings below). It can also be challenging to follow at times. 

There are multiple characters with the same name and the story does tend to bounce around so it can be difficult to figure out which of the characters are being referenced until you either keep reading for more context or think back on your own mental/physical notes. This was obviously an intentional choice by the author perfect for literary analysis. It also helps to look up a family tree which I referenced a number of times while reading.

A few literary analyses I read often referred that the cycle of deaths in this family as an allegory for the cycle of violence in Latin American history due to colonialism and desire for power. This is something I can see vividly in Gabriel García Márquez’s depictions, especially with the Banana Massacre in 1928.

Overall it is a heavily character driven story with intriguing depictions and finely walks the line between reality and the supernatural (magical realism at its best). It’s disparaging, depressing, surprising, frustrating, bizarre, hopeful, and at times all of these all at once. I’m definitely not done dissecting all of the underlying messages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Murder, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

gennyloves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: War

alexandracpedro's review against another edition

I got tired of the racial slurs and I read another book my him that made me not want to read more by him at least for the time being.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

This book is a wonder; upon finishing, its easy to draw parallels to how it has inspired a plethora of other intergenerational novels, though none quite so vast as this story. The way in which Gabriel García Márquez tackles issues of war, imperialism, and colonialism through the lens of the Buendía family members humanizes their struggle to a individual level, interspersing these serious plot points with shockingly jarring moments ranging from pedophilia to incest and everything in between. 

Though these disturbing scenes feel add purely to shock readers, it was definitely intriguing to see the way Márquez uses these instances purposefully to show the deterioration of memory and the cyclical nature of time in the six generations of the Buendías. Although, as a book originally written in Spanish, its interesting to ponder whether the voice of the translator serves to give a different perspective than that originally intended by the author. 

Either way, this book is by no means perfect, but I enjoyed it very thoroughly, though I would heavily recommend checking the content warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Gun violence and Violence

sarasanchez's review against another edition

challenging reflective

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

michaelion's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Homophobia, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment

heddasch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Grief

acornett99's review against another edition

3.0

I’m a sucker for generational stories, but covering so many characters’ lives can make it difficult to care about each one. By the end, it’s a little tiring

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Racial slurs

dolly_rocker's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

5.0

You have to be up for a challenge to read this book, but wow, is it worth it. I think listening to the audiobook helps a lot, as the narrator is fantastic.

While I have some quibbles with the content, the overall themes that this book explores, about the circular nature of time and the impact of solitude, are masterfully explored through beautiful writing. It’s hard to keep up with so many characters who have the same name, and their stories are told in ways that are often not linear, and yet this approach helps you to realize that the way one character perceives an event is quite different from how others perceive it. And so the events or actions thought by some to be magical could really be magic, or they could just be folklore, passed down through generations or perceived through secondhand knowledge.

I couldn’t stop reading this book and wanting to know what happened to these characters, even though none of them were particularly likable. They were all interesting, and gosh, Fernanda and her ranting will linger in my mind for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and War

elenatamsen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Infidelity

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Police brutality