Epic Family Saga in the Jungle of Latin America

It took me nearly 40 years to reread Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude and I am as overwhelmed as I was before by the rich and powerful prose, the epic breadth of the story, the mystical and allegorical touch as well as the mosaic of incredible and unforgettable characters. The book is crammed with so many pictures, events and episodes, it makes your head spin.

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of 7 generations of the Buendia family in the fictitious town of Macondo. José Arcadio Buendía and his wife Úrsula Iguarán leave their native town in Colombo to search for a better life. After wandering for a long time in the jungle, they finally settle together with some friends at a river side and found Macondo. The little settlement is completely isolated from the rest of the world and the only highlight in the peaceful and pastoral life is the annual visit of a group of gypsies, who enchant the population with their acrobatics and magical devices.

The story of Macondo is the story of the Buendía family. During the history of Macondo we learn about the fate of the next 6 generations, with a lot of parallels in Latin American history perhaps. With the death of the last member of the family, Macondo crumbles into dust and is blown away by the wind.

All characters in this novel are unique and beautifully drafted. While the women are often strong and caring or passionate lovers, the men tend to be dreamers or adventurers. Even José Arcadio Buendía, the founder of Macondo falls for the spell of alchemy and loses touch with reality, while Úrsula Iguarán takes care of the family through the next 5 generations. José Arcadio, the first born son, runs away with a gipsy girl and sails the seas for years to return to Macondo, full of tattoos, but without any money. Aureliano Buendí, the second born son, an artist and warrior, becomes a revolutionary leader and after many defeats and failures spends the last years of his life tied to an oak tree in Macondo. Many characters follow in the coming generations, but the main streaks of the Buendias continue to repeat themselves.

Throughout the history of the Buendía family incest is a dominant theme. Úrsula Iguarán and José Arcadio Buendía are cousins, Aureliano José wants to marry his aunt Amaranta, Amaranta Úrsula gets pregnant by her nephew Aureliano and gives birth to baby boy, the last member of the Buendía family.

The story may appear convoluted and bizarre and its meaning or purpose is hard to guess, but there lies some of its magic and beauty perhaps. There is an abundance of selfish stubbornness, unlimited passion, wild lust and deep love to fill more than one book.

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truly abstract story

the author shows a daily life of wild souls who in a search for love in the end find themselves in a solitude.

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Very unique

unlike anything I've read before. great narrator. and I think it's one of those books that can't be made into a movie or TV show, at least not without losing it's character as a somewhat neutrally narrated family chronic.

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great narrator, so-so story

I guess I'm just not the kind of guy for this kind of literature... but the narrator was great

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Eternally long

It's an interesting book but I struggled to finish it... It felt like a 100 years indeed. I reckon the original in Spanish is better than the translation.

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1 Person fand das hilfreich

Wunderschönes Buch

Ein wunderbarer Roman, der von jedem gelesen werden muss. Die Geschichte über Menschlichkeit, Liebe, Familie und geistige Werte.

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better read than heard

its a great story, wonderful twists and leads, but due to all of the names, it's probably easier to follow when read instead of heard.

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2 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Enthralling listen

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to end. On times when I take breaks (eating, studying, being with friends) I find myself constantly thinking about it. The weaving of tales through time is complex enough to keep you hooked and so beautifully written and read that when it ends, you are pained by nostalgia...wanting to read it again.

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