One Hundred Years of Solitude
Extraordinary
Ambitious
Visionary

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a literary classic known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize-winning career. The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America. Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel Garcia Marquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master. Alternately reverential and comical, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.
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Reviews

Photo of elizabeth
elizabeth@ekmclaren
4 stars
May 11, 2024

It's difficult to review this one. I didn't super enjoy it but I feel very...indebted to it. Many books I've enjoyed probably owe themselves, in some part, to Marquez's magical realism and multi-generational storytelling, because he does both so famously well. I'm left with a profound appreciation and respect for this book more than a love for it. Sometimes, I read a classic and I'm kind of left having to do some research to understand its masterpiece-ness. Not this one. I get it. In telling the story of Macondo and the Buendias, Marquez attempts to tell the story of civilization (or at least Latin America) and its intersections with technology and ideology and imperialism and attempts to capture the essence of human nature and its intersections with perception and sexuality and storytelling, all while constraining this exploration within space (Macondo) and time (a century). And that's a vast oversimplification of the whole thing. It's wildly ambitious on Marquez's part. Big brain energy. I'm still untangling it all. Note: At some point--relatively early on--I had to consult people who had read this and ask, "How important is it to keep all these names straight?" and "How important is it that I know what's going on?" Answers pretty much boiled down to "Just have a character map handy." That worked.

Photo of Nouhaila el khatrouni
Nouhaila el khatrouni@nouhailael
5 stars
Nov 10, 2021

Masterpiece

+1
Photo of Katherine
Katherine@katebugs
5 stars
Nov 3, 2021

10/10 read but why so much incest??

This review contains a spoiler
+3
Photo of anika aberle
anika aberle @1aniaberle1
4 stars
Jun 17, 2024
Photo of dola
dola@riselikelions
5 stars
Mar 14, 2022
Photo of Adriana Coppola
Adriana Coppola@adrianaa
5 stars
Feb 17, 2022
Photo of Isabella Agostino
Isabella Agostino@bellaray
5 stars
Jul 24, 2024
Photo of pamela enojas
pamela enojas@pam_1109
4 stars
Jul 23, 2024
Photo of Katrina Wilson
Katrina Wilson@kwilson
4 stars
Jul 16, 2024
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Princess Doe @princessdoe
3 stars
Jul 6, 2024
Photo of Patrick Book
Patrick Book@patrickb
3 stars
Jul 5, 2024
Photo of Brishti Basu
Brishti Basu@brish_ti
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024
Photo of Jorge Amigo
Jorge Amigo@amigo
5 stars
Jul 5, 2024
Photo of Olivia
Olivia@olivia11235813
5 stars
Jul 4, 2024
Photo of Christopher McCabe
Christopher McCabe@chrismc53
3 stars
Jul 4, 2024
Photo of Ryan Mateyk
Ryan Mateyk@the_rybrary
5 stars
Jul 4, 2024
Photo of Mat Connor
Mat Connor@mconnor
5 stars
Jun 25, 2024
Photo of Sharon
Sharon@sharonturek
4 stars
Jun 24, 2024
Photo of Phil James
Phil James@philjames
4 stars
Jun 12, 2024
Photo of Ian Macartney
Ian Macartney@ianmacartney
4 stars
Jun 7, 2024
Photo of Grace Edwards
Grace Edwards@graceedwards
5 stars
Jun 2, 2024
Photo of Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre@savedbyjane
3 stars
May 30, 2024
Photo of David Whipps
David Whipps@dwhipps
5 stars
May 23, 2024
Photo of benie
benie@bahamas
3 stars
May 4, 2024

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