Reviews tagging 'War'

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

159 reviews

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall opinion: I liked it. I didn't love it like I thought I would, but I honestly think the way I read it also had quite a big impact on my experience and final opinion.

I took two weeks and a half to read this book, which is quite a lot for me, and I think that stopped me from feeling fully immersed in the story.

On the other end, the misogyny (and incest) didn't sit well with me. I recognise that it might make sense given the context but nonetheless, I can't help but feel that there were unnecessary parts that could have been handled better. And even with the context, it made me feel uncomfortable and that's something that always stains my reading experience. 

I feel like I need to justify myself because I know this is the favourite of so many (and because it was a direct rec from someone that means so much to me). I especially feel like I need to talk about what I didn't like because what I liked it's quite obvious.

Gabriel Gracía Márquez writes in a wonderful and quirky way. He's an excellent storyteller that knows how to make a message come to life in the form of a narrative. His mastery of magical realism is indisputable.

I guess this was more of a me problem. I feel like I failed to see the big picture and the whole thing fell short to me. The good news is: I can't stop thinking about how a reread in a couple of years will likely become a much more enjoyable experience. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, War, Abandonment, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Body shaming, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

olivetree614's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Geez. I didn't get the hype at first. And then I finished it. Brilliant. Crying in the club. I miss this family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and War

zoezie's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.0

I found the use of the same and similar names for most of the characters throughout the book confusing and hard to keep track of. I also found some of the content such as incest and sexual desire for children uncomfortable to read about. There are things to enjoy in this book and as I was reading I felt like if it ended after the first quarter I would have rated it highly. I found myself losing interest in the middle and almost gave up, but then I found the end interesting as well and enjoyed the way it was wrapped up. It’s difficult for me to say whether I like this book or not, but I don’t think I would want to read it again personally 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Incest

Moderate: War, Sexual content, and Violence

seanml's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

I'll probably have to read One Hundred Years of Solitude in a decade or two to really understand it. The book's doses of magical realism and a very spacey flowery prose, instead of creating something more fantastical, make the story much more intimate and human. This doesn't distract at all from the bloody murders, strange incest, or sexual assault. The main family we follow is not made up of good people, but they're not supposed to be either way. They are just people going through time. 7/10.

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective medium-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

a lot of people with a lot of solitude

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: War

zendthyl's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, War, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Genocide, Incest, and Violence

bootrat's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this book to be a very strange read. At times I loved it, and at times I found it completely indecipherable and very hard going. I lost track of which character was which, which time period we were in, and where we were within the story quite frequently. However I found it really interesting and intriguing.

I think the fact that I listened to the audiobook made it even more confusing, as I couldn't flick back to previous pages when I lost the thread of the story.

Overall I think I enjoyed this book, but it was quite confusing. I may come back to it and try reading a physical copy, as I think it has potential to be a book I really like.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and War

Minor: Death, Dementia, Racism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Sexual content

dolly_rocker's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You have to be up for a challenge to read this book, but wow, is it worth it. I think listening to the audiobook helps a lot, as the narrator is fantastic.

While I have some quibbles with the content, the overall themes that this book explores, about the circular nature of time and the impact of solitude, are masterfully explored through beautiful writing. It’s hard to keep up with so many characters who have the same name, and their stories are told in ways that are often not linear, and yet this approach helps you to realize that the way one character perceives an event is quite different from how others perceive it. And so the events or actions thought by some to be magical could really be magic, or they could just be folklore, passed down through generations or perceived through secondhand knowledge.

I couldn’t stop reading this book and wanting to know what happened to these characters, even though none of them were particularly likable. They were all interesting, and gosh, Fernanda and her ranting will linger in my mind for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship

natgeographic's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual content, Incest, War, Pedophilia, Infidelity, and Confinement

Minor: Child abuse and Dementia

marieholly13's review

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Incest, Grief, and Death

Moderate: War, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence