Scan barcode
cleansky7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Incest, Mass/school shootings, Death, Colonisation, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Pedophilia, Genocide, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness
bites_of_books'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love multigenerational stories and this one goes through multiple generations of the Buendía family as they live through the establishment of Macondo, war, colonization, technological advances, and more. This book is deeply rooted in Márquez' culture and the history of Colombia, which can also translate to several parts of Latin America.
The magical realism was incredible, certain sections had the subtlest uses of it while others were impactful and they almost provoked a visceral emotional reaction. My mom's family has a house in Mexico that was filled with people when I was little, but slowly, as my mom and uncles began to live their lives outside of that house and after my grandma passed away, the house started to become empty and less cared for. The Buendía house mirrors the what happens within the family and what's happening in the community, people leaving, marriages, war, etc. The house is either clean and with additions for all the people in the house, or almost empty and deteriorating due to disuse and abuse.
There are so many things to explore about this book, it's one that I might revisit later in life since I'm sure I'll find more things that will resonate. While I give this book 5 stars, there are plenty of things that were not enjoyable as well and they all would fall into multiple content warnings, among them: sexual violence, war, child neglect and abuse, incest, and more.
I'd recommend this to anyone who'd like to learn more about classic Latin American literature, magical realism, anyone who loves multigenerational stories with a variety of very interesting characters, and also if you love drama, this one is full of it.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gun violence, and Incest
gigireadswithkiki'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
4.5
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.
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Incest, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Colonisation, War, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Gun violence and Violence
andreew's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Incest and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Gun violence and Violence
rousseure's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
more like 100 years of incest
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Incest, Slavery, Murder, Gun violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Child death, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
yeahjuju'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Incest, Death, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Pedophilia
nicolleschumacher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I also can’t stand when (especially male) authors constantly write about women’s breasts even of very young girls, a lot of the book just gave me the impression that the author was a perv and it just grossed me out.
Graphic: Incest, Gun violence, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
maddyschue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This wad a one time read for me, but worth it to read once. It was a very slow at times but quite interesting at times too. It is an early magical realism novel that delves deep into relationships, human nature, how history repeats itself, solitude, progress, family, and civilization. It follows the Buendía family through seven generations starting when José builds a utopian, very isolated city in the middle of a swamp in Colombia. The writing is very beautiful and the setting is described with great detail. The story gets kind of complicated and a lot of characters have the same/similar names so that was a little confusing at times. But I liked how the author really developed the characters and showed the connections of everyone.
< SPOILER BELOW >
Rip like every character in the Buendía you meet, they all go through some hell.
Moderate: Sexism, Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Incest
seanml's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Death, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Incest, and Infidelity
Minor: Ableism, Antisemitism, Confinement, Colonisation, Abandonment, and Sexual assault
calistahs'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: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Incest, and Violence
Moderate: War