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xiindiie's review against another edition
In the midst of mundane daily life, this book tells the tales of the Buendia family and their lives in Macondo (a fictional LatAm city), including that of incest and pedophilia... People in this story were wild and freedom-loving, with loose morality (when it comes to sex). There were wars, generations and generations of the Buendia family with the same names and how those who carried the same name carried the same fate.
I started reading this book because of what I heard about it being the pioneer of the magical realism genre, with Haruki Murakami being one of the authors in the genre. I’m not sure what I think about the book, but I’ve finished it in a week. I must be, to some extent enjoy this book. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to finish it.
One of the parts I enjoyed the most is how the Buendia family members’ reflections on their lives. Amidst the busyness of living, of the rambunctiousness, it all came to an eventual demise. And the city carried the same fate, till nothing is left.
It’s one hundred years of solitude indeed.
I started reading this book because of what I heard about it being the pioneer of the magical realism genre, with Haruki Murakami being one of the authors in the genre. I’m not sure what I think about the book, but I’ve finished it in a week. I must be, to some extent enjoy this book. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to finish it.
One of the parts I enjoyed the most is how the Buendia family members’ reflections on their lives. Amidst the busyness of living, of the rambunctiousness, it all came to an eventual demise. And the city carried the same fate, till nothing is left.
It’s one hundred years of solitude indeed.
hallebee2's review against another edition
2.0
DNF - too much pedophilia in my magical realism for my taste. Hit my breaking point when I realized Aureliano was going to marry the newly introduced 9 year old. It does get 2 stars for being an interesting story. Good thing I bought a very used copy!
sarasure's review against another edition
4.0
Márquez is a masterful storyteller and his writing is both beautiful and lyrical. There’s no question to why he’s a celebrated author because this book will have you recognizing all kinds of familiar things. The virtues and evils of man, rise and fall of capitalism, and the arrogance of war. Life imitates art.
This was my first magical realism read and it did not disappoint. The imagery is both wondrous and strange and I was completely there for it. I wish more writers wrote like this. It’s true, the paragraphs are non existent and sentences run into each other so it’s very easy to get confused (assuming the repetitious names don’t get you there first). Honestly, this didn’t bother me in the slightest and I made great use of the family tree chart.
My one gripe is the mistreatment and overall character underdevelopment of women and children. I’m sure my uneasiness stems from never being exposed to much traumatic plot lines, so I was definitely caught by surprise. It is a fact these horrors exist in our world, I know, and it might be a cultural thing to marry children once they start their periods, but all of this didn’t sit well with me, hence my rating.
I’m aware my opinion isn’t popular and I don’t pretend to be a literary expert. If I put my personal feelings aside, I’m still very glad I read this and I would highly recommend this book for anyone with lots of patience and a thoughtful mind.
Thanks for the trauma Márquez!
This was my first magical realism read and it did not disappoint. The imagery is both wondrous and strange and I was completely there for it. I wish more writers wrote like this. It’s true, the paragraphs are non existent and sentences run into each other so it’s very easy to get confused (assuming the repetitious names don’t get you there first). Honestly, this didn’t bother me in the slightest and I made great use of the family tree chart.
My one gripe is the mistreatment and overall character underdevelopment of women and children. I’m sure my uneasiness stems from never being exposed to much traumatic plot lines, so I was definitely caught by surprise. It is a fact these horrors exist in our world, I know, and it might be a cultural thing to marry children once they start their periods, but all of this didn’t sit well with me, hence my rating.
I’m aware my opinion isn’t popular and I don’t pretend to be a literary expert. If I put my personal feelings aside, I’m still very glad I read this and I would highly recommend this book for anyone with lots of patience and a thoughtful mind.
Thanks for the trauma Márquez!
lisalotte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
nguyen_vy's review against another edition
5.0
Cảm thấy có lỗi khi chỉ vì cái dòng họ đặt tên giống nhau mà bỏ bê em nó gần nửa năm
pianorunner421's review against another edition
1.0
I have read many classics in my life. I was the reading nerd in school who actually read all the books assigned instead of getting Cliff Notes. I am also a firm believer in reading books that take you out of your comfort zone and that require thought, as well as reading easy reads that just transport you elsewhere. I had previously tried to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book Love in the Time of Cholera. I gave it up after 100 pages. At the time, many of my friends insisted that this was a better book by him and that I had to read it. Many said it had impacted their lives. So, I got it several months ago and it has been on the shelves. I decided to tackle it while still on the holiday break thinking I needed quiet extended time to read this. I am hoping that this is the worst book I read this year, because I found it disjunct, uninteresting, rambling, insipid, and dull. I was encouraged to keep reading and I did. I committed to giving this one a better try than I did the other book by this author and so many recommended it that I persisted. Now that I am at the end all I can say is I have accomplished reading a Nobel Prize winner (whooppee), I can mark off reading a book originally written in another language from my 50 book challenge, and that the one nugget of wisdom I took from the book is that when looking for lost things don't look in your normal path (page 252). There were moments when I had hopes that we were getting to a storyline. There were short passages that were amusing or thought provoking. But overall, I do not feel that my life is better for having read this, rather, I feel I wasted five days I could have been reading something else.
mrdietz's review against another edition
3.0
Magical realism has never been my favorite. Clearly, this text is regarded as a masterpiece, but I had a hard time finding my way in. It's interesting to see Netflix pick this up for a limited series because I think there's a wonderful, imaginative adaptation waiting to happen.
thehumanmuseym's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0