Reviews tagging 'Murder'

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

60 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

maddyschue's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• 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

3/5 stars

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Incest

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

eliss02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

I've read this for an university exam, I despised it so much it made me sick a few times but I constantly think about it. Despite me disliking this book it was one of those I've printed on my mind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, War, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Cursing, Dementia, and Incest

Moderate: Infidelity

noonjinx's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I only read this book because it’s one you are “supposed” to read, and I was expecting to struggle through and begrudgingly accept that it was clever like Midnight’s Children, but I ended up loving it.

It tells the story of seven generations of the Buendia family living in the remote Colombian town of Macondo. The family history is tied to the founding, growing, modernising and ultimate decay of the town. It really shouldn’t be so compelling because there are less than a hundred pages per generation, but it’s so beautifully written (and translated by Gregory Rabassa) that I couldn’t put it down. I don’t think there’s one sentence out of place in 400 pages.

In a single page it can jump between funny, sad and horrific. The tone and the magical realism are mesmerising and there is something delightful on every page. I loved the stories of prophesies, ghosts, magical plagues and hundred and fifty year old characters who turn up again when you’re least expecting them.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling I had when I suddenly realised where the ending was heading.

Definitely one I’ll come back to in the future.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Incest

Minor: Murder

laserdiscreader's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a slog for me and I debated DNF'ing multiple times, spurred on only by the facts I read this for a reading challenge and I knew this to be a classic held in high regard by many people. It's an account of a family's life, incredibly detailed in some regards while jumping around time and space and handwaving away details in others. The style of writing is quite possibly the only thing I enjoyed about this book and therefore the only thing that got my rating of it to 3 stars. Maybe time will be kinder to me response to this than my current feelings after having spent over two weeks forcing myself to get through it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cannibalism, Grief, Incest, Murder, Sexual content, Child death, Forced institutionalization, War, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Abandonment, Violence, Death, and Infidelity

gabyyinz's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Cursing, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Child death, Infidelity, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Rape, Suicide attempt, War, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Moderate: Genocide, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Body horror, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, and Misogyny

shainalite's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

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

5.0

my all time favorite book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Blood, Excrement, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Murder, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Abandonment, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Violence, and Vomit