One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

I finished reading this the other day and thought it was really, really good so I figured I’d write something about it for nobody to pay attention to but make myself feel good for putting it out there. I’m doing this for no other reason than, in the off chance somebody is interested in reading this or even if you are not, you can read what I thought of it here.

One Hundred Years of Solitude pulls you straight away into the magical land of Macondo, situated in the South American Jungle, that the ever changing times of the world and civilization seem to overlook. This secluded settlement is, at times, host to happenings that are not encountered in our everyday modern world and otherworldy and fascinating events leave you marvelling at this enchanted place.

Through the book you are firmly rooted into the life of the Buendia family who founded the settlement and you are hurtled through the lives of an array of characters and their doings until you almost feel part of the ancestry and find yourself tightly clinging to their family tree.

Márquez wastes no time letting you sink your teeth into the characters and the vibrant, exotic environment alike from the get-go and the story seems to pick up quite a tempo, managing to flit from one person’s adventures to the next, but without throwing you off track.

The only downfalls that seemed to present themselves were that as you seem to progress through the story often at such a racing speed, it seems, at times, to be an effort to keep up as the story unfolds from the beginning. This is easily overcome by not stopping mid chapter and ceases to be the minute hiccup it once was and merely encapsulates you more, leaving you reluctanct to put the book down at all. The other quandary I had was the extremely similair names within the family. Again, this ceases to bother as it is merely in keeping with the time and society it is set and adopting that mindset aids you in extracting more enjoyment from the novel. Also, with a family tree placed at the front of the book, a simple reference to it helps keeps you on track.

I found this book and the story it tells so enthralling that I was almost willing it to come to an end so I could find out whether or not it would live up to my expectations, and it did just that and more. However, once I had closed it shut I found myself disheartened as I was so submerged in a completely different place, life and family for the duration of this fantastic, well written book.

“The world must be all fucked up, when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.”