Reviews tagging 'Violence'

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

97 reviews

nicolelis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

100 Years is very entertaining and often confusing -- I was both appalled and enthralled the entire time I was reading it, so do with that information what you will.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

dorkestra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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

4.5

The cyclical nature of this family is devastating to watch unfold. There are some patterns I did not even realize until after I finished, looking at the family tree. Not a conventional read, and there are many disturbing parts of this book, but it still rates highly in spite of that. Very well written/translated (Gregory Rabassa's translation). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Alcohol, Violence, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence

madadio's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, War, Pedophilia, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy

gigireadswithkiki's review

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Classism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War

Minor: Child death

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

andreew's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Gun violence and Violence

robbe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, War, and Violence

michaelion's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The most confusing part of this book is the names. But! It's clear that was intentional. Everything else? Pretty lovely. (I don't mean that literally for every aspect. Don't cancel me.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, War, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Incest, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Homophobia, and Vomit

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

---

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