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A review by emilyusuallyreading
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
2.0
What I Liked
The magical realism present in this book is fantastical. Storms of yellow flowers. The most beautiful woman imaginable ascending into heaven while folding laundry. An old man madly speaking Latin while tied to a tree in the backyard for twenty years. Although I didn't enjoy this novel, it was certainly memorable. I won't forget some of the wilder moments of One Hundred Years of Solitude, not for a long time.
What I Didn't Like
This story wrung out my brain like a dishrag. I appreciate books that make me think, but I'm not certain this one is worth it. I may remember the weirdness of this book, but not with the fondness that causes me to love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. By the end, I felt like I had run a marathon for no reason at all. This book did not carry a message that changed or impacted me. It was only exhausting.
One Hundred Years of Solitude follows six generations of a family who all share the same few names (Boys: Aureliano, Arcadio, Jose, Girls: Remedios, Amaranta, Ursula...) that cycle over and over again, from generation to generation. There are far too many main characters to keep track of them all, especially since almost every single one is named Aureliano.
Because of the huge expanse of time present in this novel, there is no opportunity to get to know an individual character (which I suppose contributes to their solitude). There was so much detail and brilliant lines and interesting magical moments, but I found myself drifting off into sleep while reading (which never happens).
If you truly (and are not lying, but you truly) enjoyed reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, then you must be a better reader than I, because I was only relieved to finish the last page and move on with my life.
The magical realism present in this book is fantastical. Storms of yellow flowers. The most beautiful woman imaginable ascending into heaven while folding laundry. An old man madly speaking Latin while tied to a tree in the backyard for twenty years. Although I didn't enjoy this novel, it was certainly memorable. I won't forget some of the wilder moments of One Hundred Years of Solitude, not for a long time.
What I Didn't Like
This story wrung out my brain like a dishrag. I appreciate books that make me think, but I'm not certain this one is worth it. I may remember the weirdness of this book, but not with the fondness that causes me to love Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. By the end, I felt like I had run a marathon for no reason at all. This book did not carry a message that changed or impacted me. It was only exhausting.
One Hundred Years of Solitude follows six generations of a family who all share the same few names (Boys: Aureliano, Arcadio, Jose, Girls: Remedios, Amaranta, Ursula...) that cycle over and over again, from generation to generation. There are far too many main characters to keep track of them all, especially since almost every single one is named Aureliano.
Because of the huge expanse of time present in this novel, there is no opportunity to get to know an individual character (which I suppose contributes to their solitude). There was so much detail and brilliant lines and interesting magical moments, but I found myself drifting off into sleep while reading (which never happens).
If you truly (and are not lying, but you truly) enjoyed reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, then you must be a better reader than I, because I was only relieved to finish the last page and move on with my life.