A review by eenaah
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

✧ “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉.”

Hauntingly beautiful! 

The book depicts the vicious cycle of the Buendia family in which each generation is doomed to follow the same path, never learning from the mistakes of the previous generation.  The main Ideas/themes of thr book seem to be:

1. 𝘾𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮: with the example of the Buendia family, Marquez is trying to highlight the nature of history as history repeats itself on all levels. The Buendia family entrapped in their own patterns keep repeating the same mistakes.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘉𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘥í𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘹𝘭𝘦. ”

2. 𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚:  the book does a good job of depicting the flaws of human nature and its inability to break from the vicious pattern of destruction. The book also highlights how flawed  and fragile our memories are. The people of Macondo who eventually forget their own history and origins are consumed by this flaw.

3.𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: Another major theme throughout the book, Marquez keeps emphasising on the solitude of the Buendia family as well as the Macondo. The people of the family are almost incapable of bonding with the other people because of their pride and the incest and stuff is somehow a result of this very reason. The same goes with the rest of the town, where they are always in a conflict with outsiders.

4. 𝙒𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧:  Another important aspect of the book. Throughout the book, the Buendia family and the town of Macondo are burdened with War and conflict. The war and violence in the book again emphasizes the cyclic nature of human history.

“𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺, 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯. ”

5. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙚:  In the ending chapter, it's revealed how Melquiadas had already written the destiny of the family and the town. And it was all before them in the parchments but they were so indulged in the fate that they were never able to realise it until the end.  And eventually the cycle of fate is completed with the destruction of Macondo.

6. 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚:  The theme of love and it's nature is found along with obsession, passion and incest . The book keeps on showing the tragic and destructive nature of love.

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:

◉ “𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴.”

◉ “ 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥. ”

◉ “𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦”

◉ “𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩: 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳.” 

◉ “𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.”  

◉ “𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”  

◉ “𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦,”

◉ “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, “𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”

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Graphic: Incest