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bites_of_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I finally read Márquez' most recognized novel and now I understand why it is called one of the most influential books of Latin American literature and culture.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gun violence, and Incest
bludgeoned_by_hail's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
(Spanish follows English)
(Read in Spanish)
A classic for a reason, though not an easily classifiable or interpretable one.
Aided by beautiful language and imagery, the book elevates the story of multiple generations of the Buendía family to something mythological or biblical one second, and then goes back to basically slice-of-life the next.
While the messaging and symbolism is a bit abstract and can feel muddled sometimes, the emotional moments still hit hard in a very straightforward manner that wraps you in the tragic loop of the family's history and keeps you invested in their repeating fates.
Some aspects of the book might have not aged very well (the pedophilia, incest and sexual violence are especially uncomfortable) but overall the book has an almost whimsical feel that makes it timeless, and politico-social commentary that makes it poignant.
......
Un clásico con razón, pero no uno fácil de interpretar (o leer).
Ayudado por su lenguaje e imágenes de gran belleza, el libro eleva la historia de varias generaciones de la familia Buendía a algo casi mitológico o bíblico en un segundo, y vuelve a la cotidianeidad en el siguiente.
El mensaje y simbología son un poco abstractos y difusos, pero los momentos emocionales son intensos de una forma muy directa, envolviéndote en el bucle trágico de la historia de la familia y manteniéndote involucrado emocionalmente en sus destinos repetitivos.
Algunos aspectos del libro no envejecieron muy bien (la pedofilia, incesto y violencia sexual fueron bastante incómodos, en particular) pero el libro sigue teniendo un ambiente casi de cuento que lo mantiene eterno, y crítica socio-política que lo mantiene actual.
(Read in Spanish)
A classic for a reason, though not an easily classifiable or interpretable one.
Aided by beautiful language and imagery, the book elevates the story of multiple generations of the Buendía family to something mythological or biblical one second, and then goes back to basically slice-of-life the next.
While the messaging and symbolism is a bit abstract and can feel muddled sometimes, the emotional moments still hit hard in a very straightforward manner that wraps you in the tragic loop of the family's history and keeps you invested in their repeating fates.
Some aspects of the book might have not aged very well (the pedophilia, incest and sexual violence are especially uncomfortable) but overall the book has an almost whimsical feel that makes it timeless, and politico-social commentary that makes it poignant.
......
Un clásico con razón, pero no uno fácil de interpretar (o leer).
Ayudado por su lenguaje e imágenes de gran belleza, el libro eleva la historia de varias generaciones de la familia Buendía a algo casi mitológico o bíblico en un segundo, y vuelve a la cotidianeidad en el siguiente.
El mensaje y simbología son un poco abstractos y difusos, pero los momentos emocionales son intensos de una forma muy directa, envolviéndote en el bucle trágico de la historia de la familia y manteniéndote involucrado emocionalmente en sus destinos repetitivos.
Algunos aspectos del libro no envejecieron muy bien (la pedofilia, incesto y violencia sexual fueron bastante incómodos, en particular) pero el libro sigue teniendo un ambiente casi de cuento que lo mantiene eterno, y crítica socio-política que lo mantiene actual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Classism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War
Minor: Child death
ballista_2003's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I’m being so generous with this rating regarding my own experiences with this book. I’m only giving it more than 2.5 stars because when I think 2.5 I think “meh”. This book was by no means just “average.”
Before you pick this monster up please know that this book is DENSE. It is information overload from the first sentence, twisting and turning timelines with seemingly no rhyme nor reason, and so SO many people with the exact same names.
With a quick google search, you can find upwards of 50 different video analyses of this book that are done super well- my experience was clearly not the same as these peoples.
This book quite literally killed my reading addiction.
Honestly, as much as I hate to say it (because this book was absolute torture to finish) it demands a reread from me in maybe 10-20 years when I’m older and wiser and can get past the obscene amount of graphic incest this book has- because it was hard for me to get over that (also pedophilia.)
The themes in this book are really complex, but the overall summation I can give you was said by Roro Reads;
“The Buendia family is doomed to repeat themselves in a solitude of their own making”
This book was dense, confusing, every character could be hated for one reason or another and frankly I think I’m just not smart enough to enjoy and understand it to its full potential right now.
If you pick this up- good luck.
Before you pick this monster up please know that this book is DENSE. It is information overload from the first sentence, twisting and turning timelines with seemingly no rhyme nor reason, and so SO many people with the exact same names.
With a quick google search, you can find upwards of 50 different video analyses of this book that are done super well- my experience was clearly not the same as these peoples.
This book quite literally killed my reading addiction.
Honestly, as much as I hate to say it (because this book was absolute torture to finish) it demands a reread from me in maybe 10-20 years when I’m older and wiser and can get past the obscene amount of graphic incest this book has- because it was hard for me to get over that (also pedophilia.)
The themes in this book are really complex, but the overall summation I can give you was said by Roro Reads;
“The Buendia family is doomed to repeat themselves in a solitude of their own making”
This book was dense, confusing, every character could be hated for one reason or another and frankly I think I’m just not smart enough to enjoy and understand it to its full potential right now.
If you pick this up- good luck.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Pedophilia
Moderate: War, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death
jsuispoesie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
When I was 15 y.o. - after bein traumatised by the description of an abort in the first part of the narration - I decided I woul never read this book. Here I am, ten years later, after finishing this terribly long book, with the unpleasant sensation that this is gonna be one of the best reading of the year. Let's be clear, I absolutely despise the scene of rape and child abuse that the narrator throws in the stories like nothing. There are too many characters, and after a while I started to hate everyone because the characters I loved were no longer the center of the story. I'm not sure I completely understood all the war part, but I guess it's kinda the point of it. After all it really seemed like a spent a hundred years reading this, but at the end of the day I could not - not - like these characters, only because I saw them from the beginning of their life to their end. I don't give it 5 stars for the reasons I enumerated, but gosh I hate the fact that I liked this book!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Pedophilia, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Vomit, Rape, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, and Alcohol
Minor: Genocide
miayukino's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, War, Sexual content, Child death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Death of parent, Animal death, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Vomit, Blood, Religious bigotry, Racism, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Excrement
mayo_confessionary's review against another edition
It's boring and the way is structurr doesn't help. It doesn't confuse, but it does bored me since I want to learn about new characters and we go back to the same lame ones who are so pathetic. Haven't met a single Buendía who isn't a piece of shit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Pedophilia, and Child death
tommy_g's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: War, Mental illness, Incest, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
rousseure's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.0
this book has amazing commentary and makes great points but it was boring and read like a string of facts from a very detached narrator
more like 100 years of incest
more like 100 years of incest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Incest, Slavery, Murder, Gun violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Child death, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
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.
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
saraluna's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Pedophilia, and Incest