It’s almost impossible for me to write a review on this book. It seems like the reading of it went by in flash, and by the last page I wasn’t ready for it to end. It’s easy to read this book and be overwhelmed, be scared that you’re missing something, because just about everybody makes a big deal about this book. So I found myself reading it and being very conscious of every single word. That’s probably why I noticed that the word ‘solitude’ is used alot, almost on every page or second page.

The novel explores themes of magical realism, fate, solitude, and time. In a period of one hundred years it tells the story of the rise and fall of the Buendias family, a fictional family but told against the backdrop of the history of Columbia during that time. What may be worth nothing is that it’s a tale told about and ‘by’ the ‘losers. It’s often said that History is written by the winners. This story is different in that way. The author gave a voice to people who may not otherwise have ever been heard.

That’s the best I can do here. Try to make sense of it. But I would definitely recommend it. It’s the kind of book that’s perfect for a bookclub though, so that it can be discussed. It was in my bookclub about two years ago, but this is the first time I’m getting to it. Now I wish I had read it then, so that I could have heard what the others had to say on it.

This novel reminds me very much of a Latin ‘Grapes of Wrath.’ Is that shortsighted? I mean to say that it evokes in me many of the same feelings that I felt when reading the Steinbeck book, and that there are similar themes within the two novels.

This is my first Marquez book. Having somewhat of a short attention span, I’m surprised I was able to stick with this book. His metaphors and style of writing is unlike anything I’ve read before, and he has such a “new” way of describing many of the same feelings that other novels fail to express in anything besides cliches.

What a book!

This is a fascinating book. Its quite a heavy read, takes some time (at least for me), but well worth it. The style is a bit confusing at first and I had to constantly refer to the family tree at the front of the book because all the male characters have the same name! Uses surreal events to point to real world issues and keeps you pondering about what Garcua Marquez was thinking while he was writing this. Definitely recommend…