One Hundred Years of Solitude

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It's a hit!

I want to hang up a "do not disturb" sign when I read Garcia Marquez so that I can inhabit the world of his language, smell the decay and renewal o... (show more)

I want to hang up a "do not disturb" sign when I read Garcia Marquez so that I can inhabit the world of his language, smell the decay and renewal of jungle, the dust in the streets.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is possibly my favourite book of all time, certainly in my top five. It's not always a quick fix, to fall into the rhythm of the characters and their obsessions, or the familial connections and frequent failures, but it is worth persevering to get to grips with the worlds that GGM creates.

Easily as awful as it is up-lifting, and often that can be within the the walls of one sentence. Being involved in the flow and magic of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing, is the is the closest I have ever come to flying. I think it's sad that there can only be one "first time" of reading particular passages, when they arrive it's such a surprise and altho' it's available to re-read, one can never quite soar in the way that initial discovery can cause.

For all of you who didn't get it or couldn't suspend disbelief enough to finish it, give the book one more try, or at least the writer... (show less)

 

 

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No, it's a flop!

One hundred years of not being able to think of a different name for your kids.

 

 

by Rumour SixtySix

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  Is this book overrated? That seems to be the word attached to any book that it's really difficult not to like. For me the fact that it obviously inspired some of my favorite contemporary authors like Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie is enough to earn it a lot of respect. The complaints that I have about the book are at the same time the things that make it successful: The at times annoying repetition of names and the fact that none of the characters live long enough for you to be invested... (show more)

  Is this book overrated? That seems to be the word attached to any book that it's really difficult not to like. For me the fact that it obviously inspired some of my favorite contemporary authors like Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie is enough to earn it a lot of respect. The complaints that I have about the book are at the same time the things that make it successful: The at times annoying repetition of names and the fact that none of the characters live long enough for you to be invested in them enforces the idea of history repeating in tragic cycles. Life begins to feel expendable the way it apparently is to the war and to the opposing armies. So that even though you don't feel much for the individual characters, even when the 17 Arcadios are systematically killed off, you feel the tragedy of the stained human soul.

  We love magical realism because when it works, it gives us the same feeling of awe that we get when witnessing something in real life that makes us wonder what forces in our world are at work that we will never understand. And this book is full of that sad/beautiful magic. (show less)

   

   

  by Christopher Myers on Mar 11, 2009 at 08:36PM

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  possibly the most amazing, moving book I've ever read. Technically and structurally, this was a work of genius. The things Gabriel Garcia Marquez is able to do with time is just pure art. Not just pretty words for pretty word's sake, there was poetry in every sentence and in every event. Magic realism for sure, but I have never come across a writer who could describe some of the most difficult emotions to put into words... a man's wasted life, an irrational fear of love, grand themes of famil... (show more)

  possibly the most amazing, moving book I've ever read. Technically and structurally, this was a work of genius. The things Gabriel Garcia Marquez is able to do with time is just pure art. Not just pretty words for pretty word's sake, there was poetry in every sentence and in every event. Magic realism for sure, but I have never come across a writer who could describe some of the most difficult emotions to put into words... a man's wasted life, an irrational fear of love, grand themes of family, love, sadness, and a person's place in the world...with such beauty, ease, and hard-hitting honesty and realism. If there was ever a book about LIFE and every aspect of it... including the meaning of it... this would be it. I wholeheartedly agree with William Kennedy who wrote it was "the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race." (show less)

   

   

  by Ashley Polikoff on Oct 07, 2009 at 02:35AM

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