A review by ballista_2003
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

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.

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