Reviews

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

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imoganthebogan's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective sad 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

I was so intimidated to read this book as generational stories and magical realism are concepts I find very confusing but I’m so happy I pushed through. This book was honestly incredible and was one of the most unique books I’ve ever read.

This book explores themes of family, memory, nostalgia, solitude and the circular nature of time. The two stand themes for me was memory and time. As a reader we are following multiple generations of the Buendia family which means we remember things that characters have either forgotten throughout their lifetimes or were not there to witness. This makes for such an interesting and intimate reading experience as we are able to make connections the characters cannot.

Secondly, the cyclical nature of time can be seen in the repeating characters names, the repetition of their ancestors mistakes (especially in terms of relationships) and the non-linear story telling. The story telling seamlessly blends the future, past and present of the Buendia family further highlighting the notion that time is not chronological.

The writing of this book is also incredible, the way that Marquez is able to write is so unique and distinctive. Firstly, the masterful application of magical realism makes for a novel that is so entertaining and enchanting that I never knew what would happen next. His character work is incredible, with so many characters with similar traits he was able to do the impossible and make distinct characters. He has such a knack for getting to the core of a character in a way that is logical and never feels rushed in so few pages.

The reason why this book isn’t higher is that it was a bit of a challenge to read. Firstly, the similar names of the characters can be very confusing and it meant that I was constantly consulting the genealogy chart. Secondly, the long form, flowing style of the narrative either did not work or really worked for me, meaning when I would sit down I would either struggle to read a single chapter or read 100 pages easily. I think this is something that would be improved on a re-read and was due to the singular uniqueness of the book. Lastly, a lot of the historical references to Columbia did go over my head so a portion of novel that focused on conflict was hard for me to make sense of.

However, this book is so special and whilst I don’t think it will be for everyone, I have a deep appreciation for it. I think is will be even higher on a re-read and I can’t wait to jump back into it again. I would highly recommend this!