Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

73 reviews

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

This book is a wonder; upon finishing, its easy to draw parallels to how it has inspired a plethora of other intergenerational novels, though none quite so vast as this story. The way in which Gabriel García Márquez tackles issues of war, imperialism, and colonialism through the lens of the Buendía family members humanizes their struggle to a individual level, interspersing these serious plot points with shockingly jarring moments ranging from pedophilia to incest and everything in between. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Gun violence and Violence

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

Moderate: Violence, Suicide attempt, War, and Classism

Minor: Child death

acopytopy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Note to self: don't read this in a single sitting again. This book is so dense with information and characters that it can be a literal headache to remember much of it. It's unlike anything else I've read, but not always in an enjoyable way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

sarasanchez's review against another edition

challenging reflective

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

pinkleum's review against another edition

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

5.0

I don’t know if this is a 4.5 or 5 because so many parts are so messed up but the book is so good idk 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Sexual assault

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

seanml's review

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: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Ableism, Confinement, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and Colonisation

zendthyl's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

learns2trust's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault