The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
malinaann'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
5.0
Graphic: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, War, Violence, and Colonisation
glowworms'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Forced institutionalization
bludgeoned_by_hail'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
3.75
(Read in Spanish)
A classic for a reason, though not an easily classifiable or interpretable one.Â
Aided by beautiful language and imagery, the book elevates the story of multiple generations of the BuendĂa family to something mythological or biblical one second, and then goes back to basically slice-of-life the next.
While the messaging and symbolism is a bit abstract and can feel muddled sometimes, the emotional moments still hit hard in a very straightforward manner that wraps you in the tragic loop of the family's history and keeps you invested in their repeating fates.
Some aspects of the book might have not aged very well (the pedophilia, incest and sexual violence are especially uncomfortable) but overall the book has an almost whimsical feel that makes it timeless, and politico-social commentary that makes it poignant.
......
Un clĂĄsico con razĂłn, pero no uno fĂĄcil de interpretar (o leer).
Ayudado por su lenguaje e imĂĄgenes de gran belleza, el libro eleva la historia de varias generaciones de la familia BuendĂa a algo casi mitolĂłgico o bĂblico en un segundo, y vuelve a la cotidianeidad en el siguiente.
El mensaje y simbologĂa son un poco abstractos y difusos, pero los momentos emocionales son intensos de una forma muy directa, envolviĂ©ndote en el bucle trĂĄgico de la historia de la familia y manteniĂ©ndote involucrado emocionalmente en sus destinos repetitivos.
Algunos aspectos del libro no envejecieron muy bien (la pedofilia, incesto y violencia sexual fueron bastante incĂłmodos, en particular) pero el libro sigue teniendo un ambiente casi de cuento que lo mantiene eterno, y crĂtica socio-polĂtica que lo mantiene actual.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Classism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death
jonmayb's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Spanning six generations of the BuendĂa family, Gabriel GarcĂa Marquez exhibits breathtaking world-building. Throughout approximately 500 pages of beautiful, although, at times annoyingly convoluted prose, the town of Macondo, from its establishment, to its dissipation, comes to feel real. Additionally, I found the themes of history repeating itself to be really compelling, as well as the terms of forgetfulness and belief. The part towards the end of the novel where Aureliano Babilonia is walking through Macondo only to find that to be particularly compelling. The prevalence of ghosts and spirits in this book, and their presence as something simply accepted, and not viewed as otherwordly also made for an interesting read. The reappearance of MelquĂaldes and his scrolls throughout the work served as an interesting link between generations, as did the theme of solitude.
However, despite being able to recognise this work's merits, I found it to be a nearly unbearable read at times. While Gabriel GarcĂa Marquez's prose was incredible, and I'm very grateful to have opted to read this work in Spanish, as I mentioned before, it was extremely convoluted at times. Sentences dragged on, changing topics and points of views multiple times within them. At one point, I found a sentence that lasted three and a half pages and had 992 words in it.
Nonetheless, I found this book to overly rely on the abuse of women as a plot device. While, unfortunately, domestic and sexual abuse was something common during this book's time period, the way GarcĂa Marquez describes them leaves a lot to be desired; sexual abuse tends to be written quite light-heartedly, in a manner in which women are portrayed as becoming near accomplices in it.
Additionally, aside from the interesting points it touches upon, and the genuinely profound themes of forgetfulness, belief, and such, I found this book to feel mostly artificially profound. Many of the more absurd events were seemingly crafted to just require the reader to extract their own meaning from it. For example, when . Even in many reading guides I found, multiple interpretations were put forth, or otherwise didn't present an interpretation at all.
To be honest, I had to claw my way through this book. Even though I can recognise that it was written that way intentionally, I disliked how characters simply floated in and out of relevance. However, upon finishing it, struck by the novel's ending, all my feelings of dislike for the book got obscured. Reflecting upon the book, it's difficult to consider how I would rate it, even remembering how much I struggled to get though it.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
Moderate: War
gaby_inz'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Cursing, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Child death, Infidelity, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Rape, Suicide attempt, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
Moderate: Genocide, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Body horror, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, and Misogyny
johnsaysjulia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Abandonment, Incest, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Police brutality
dastardly_red_witch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, War, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Racism, and Suicide attempt
natalie809's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Suicide attempt, and War
Minor: Child death
lizzzitro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Eating disorder, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, War, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
naomikleber's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: War, Murder, Incest, and Violence
Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexual violence