One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Book Reviews of One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)
Book Review: A Drawback of Magical Realism
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is great for all of the reasons people have already listed in their 5- and 4-star reviews. No need to re-hash.
Instead a brief meditation on the book's magical realism and its effect the narrator-character-reader relationship.
The chronology of the book and its unusual treatment of character create a distancing effect. There are plenty of characters here and plenty of insightful moments with them but the narrator fleets between characters, and glances between intimate stays and vast summaries. This is clearly not a book that is read for character development (compared to a book that catalogs the life of a single character), understandable, but there is also a distancing effect caused by a lack of genuine sentiment. Often (even when we have rested with Ursula for many pages, or when we see the young Aureliano looking up to his father) this book feels as though it takes place in an alternate universe where the inhabitants are almost human, but different in a hard-to-place way. Uncanny valley, without the disturbing factor. Unlike Kafka's or even Grass's treatment of the surreal/magical, where the character is very thoroughly human in thought and action, Marquez's characters think and act in manners as stylized as the events. There is a charming, fairy-tale effect to this, but there is also a divorce of emotion both from the narrator and the reader. This seems to be a mark of Marquez (excuse me there), where his characters are either too stoic or too emotive and they never quite act as ordinary people. Does this further establish the enchanted world of Macondo as a place where the reader goes to frolic, to be dismayed, overjoyed, to be transported through time? Or does it act as a barrier, a pane of glass through which everything becomes two-dimensional? It depends on the reader.
Book Review: A masterpiece- but of what?
Summary: 2 Stars
When you purchase and read this book you will be exposed to many wonderful and fanciful narrative techniques. There is no arguing that the way in which the latter chapters of One Hundred Years of Solitude mirror the first ones is very skilfully done, or that there is a lot of depth and reflection on the subject of solitude in what's actually a novel.
But buyer beware- a book is composed of both technique and content, and the content is not up to par. One Hundred Years of Solitude narrates the fictional tale of a family which lives in a small south american village in the midst of nowhere. It's the fatalistic and depressing story of the south america that has-been, with all the usual low-lifes from corrupt banana-republic officials to self-styled revolutionary "coronels". It's a tale of two-dimensional, impulse-driven characters with no depth and little to make them memorable or likeable. Most of all, it's a tale in which hope and happiness and most that is good in human beings is absent, and the few moments in which they seem to appear are illusory. Think of it as a Lord of the Flies but with a less interesting, adult, south american cast- and written with a very clever structure.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a talented and powerful author. But much of what he writes about is distasteful (his latest book concerns an elderly man enjoying child prostitution), and in the case of this novel both the characterization and ultimate message are downright repelling. I finished reading it against my better judgment. I would only recommend this novel to literary critics and others like them who derive most of their enjoyment from the technique of a book rather than its contents. For a more palatable study of themes like the darkness of the human heart, I suggest reading Joseph Conrad instead.
Book Review: Absolute masterpiece and a must-read
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't really think this book needs my recommendation. It's a legend by itself already and I doubt what I have to say will influence your opinion more than the book when you actually read it. Still, I'll try to say what to expect and what not to expect.
Most readers don't need this warning, but some will probably catch the book because it's "well known and great". Remember, this is a classical novel, not some action one. If you need action and adventure, go elsewhere, just don't try to plow over the book and then give it a one-star rating - you have been warned.
Warnings aside, for a short description. The book is actually a case-study of one family's lives in a small village "on the edge of nowhere" (supposedly in South America, on the verge of the XIX and XX century, but this is not something you want to attach too much attention to, since the village is actually a sort of "neverland" and its geographical location is, I think, only due to the fact that Marquez felt better describing places that felt 'nearer' to him).
The book is actually a philosophical work, best described I think as a study of situations when a human being, though seemingly surrounded by friends, relatives and even loved ones, is actually alone. Hence the title - it's actually a study of solitude without solitude, a solitude among people. A study made by a brilliant writer, in a breathtaking style which makes the book read like a thriller. Marquez builds the magical place that is the village very meticulously, making you almost want to seek out this neverland in reality.
The main value of this book, its characters, atmosphere and the philosophy is not something you can describe in a review. You will just have to find it out for yourself. Which I greatly urge you to.
Book Review: I Can't Stop Thinking About It
Summary: 5 Stars
I had to read this book for my English class. I didn't know anything about it other than it's legendary status. As I read it, I enjoyed it. It took me time to get through it and for me, it was not the kind of book I could sit down and read a page or two during commercials of the TV show I was watching. But more than I enjoyed it while reading, I enjoyed it even more afterwards, as strange as it sounds.
Since finishing the book over a month ago, I am constantly thinking about it and being reminded of it by daily life, which to me is the mark of a truly impressive novel. I really can't wait to go back and reread it, something I don't normally do, especially with books of this length.
Garcia Marquez's writing style was something new for me, and I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's a great book to read for school because there is huge literary value. And even more than that it's a story that everyone can relate to in some ways. Maybe the thing about Garcia Marquez'z writing is that he doesn't come right out say everything, leaving a good portion of the meaning up to the reader's own interpretation. Sometimes I feel like authors try to do this to make their books seem deep, which just makes the book seem pretentious, but I did not feel that way at all from this book. I think every person who reads it will have a different interpretation of the subtleties. And I think your interpretation will change over time, which is why I'm excited to reread this in another 10 years and see what's changed.
Bottom line: Very cool book and worth reading. Don't be intimidated by it's length and while some parts are slow, everything is integral. It's a beautiful piece of work that can only be fully appreciated if read cover to cover.
Book Review: set upon the luminous pillars of passion and tragedy
Summary: 5 Stars
A mythical town in South America (Macondo) is the setting for an intergenerational history, pervaded by pathos, sexuality, and the dark comedy of futility. This is the chronicle of the Aureliano dynasty: one hundred years of lust, continuity, and then, fatality - all clothed in surreal, symbolic language and images.
The thematic of solitude underlies the tumult and calamities in the mundane events of this history - the solitude of that which will be forgotten. The characters are together in this isolated town; and yet, they are separated by their beauty, idiocy, or trauma. The silences and solitude which result are the glue that adheres this amazing story together. You can forget about involved plot and developed characterizations - they are secondary to the generational repetitions, the circular time flow, and the fantastically incredible events on these pages.
This can be very dense reading at times - the symbolic wisdom, the fables and superstitions that give this narrative it's ferment and texture; but, the allegorical structure does completely mesmerize. There is a languid, compelling flow to the narration - time seems irrelevant while seemingly impossible events of the supernatural occur frequently, chronicled as if they were part of the everyday life in Macondo.
Marquez, the consummate prose-poet, sits this narrative upon the twin pillars of passion and tragedy. After 40 years, this tale has aged well. Given its "legs", it will still be read by many future generations.
Most highly recommended.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
The Cloud Reckoner