One Hundred Years of Solitude

This is apparently one of the groundbreaking books you just have to read. I almost didn’t get through it, but I’m glad I did. The whole “magical realism” draw was immediately apparent, and did make the book more interesting and surprising when all I wanted to do was shake all the Jose Arcadios out of the story. The repetitive use of the family names really pounded out a “history repeats itself” message. By the time you get to the 4th generation, you get the hang of the subtle name differences and it really does get easier to keep them straight. I loved this book on audio for the incredible voice acting, but I needed to open up a real copy to see how the names were spelled- if you’re like me, this really helped me remember who was who. For some reason, seeing the names on paper gave them a unique identity. Good luck with this read! Don’t put it down for too long and you will enjoy it.

OMG this was the worst book. Oh but it is a metaphor for blah blah blah.... I picked this up after my english major friend said it was amazing. Um, never again, I just don't see it. The story is incoherent, characters are utterly pointless and connectionless. But but but it won a nobel.... All I can say is why? How about a true compelling story about Central America? Something with heart? This book is really an incoherent fairy tale, with no point, written by a guy obviously on shrooms! I tried to force feed this nonsense to myself and after a couple of weeks I gave up. I could not get into this. And everyone has the same name! WTF?!? Do yourself a favor, instead of getting this book just hit your head on the wall for about 5 or 6 hours. Hard pass!

At first I felt a little disoriented by the fast pace of the novel. I listened to the audiobook while working, and I can usually get away with 1.25 speed on most books... not so with One Hundred Years of Solitude. There is so much packed into every sentence I really had to slow it down. No sentences are transitions; every sentence is a new event, full of important details. Surprised at first that the characters were growing old and dying, I found out this is the story of a family over multiple generations. You get a sense for the passage of time as the generations pass, and as the events progress, you feel a sense of attachment to the characters, a sort of nostalgia, as the characters you saw born are now growing old. Speaking of growing old... time is complex, life and death happens, most of it unexpected, and you feel the twangs of misfortune and the triumphs of success as the characters hit their goods and bads. So much to think about in this book. History repeats itself with characters named the same as their ancestors, which somehow are each unique. The magical-realism motif will probably enamor you as it did me. There's historical and cultural significance. Love, pain, passion, anger, laughter. I'm blown away.

This was a book club read and all of us found it difficult, each of us reflecting on the themes from our life points of view. In that respect, it was comprehensive. The story of a community, its founders, and the changes to both over a long period of time could have been more entertaining. The characters seem to just exist, each with his or her peculiarities, and it often gets tedious. Not a very engaging story, and with a lot of random diversions, the lesson seems to be that we are born alone, live and die alone, and keep having to learn the same lessons over and over. Not my farite read.

Couldn’t even finish this book. The writing style didn’t draw me in at all. It felt removed from the action. Too much telling the reader what happened rather than showing it evolve. Frequent references to sexual exploitation of women. It’s a mystery to me why this git so much critical acclaim.

I truly loved One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Listening to the Audible version was a pleasure, but I think actually reading the book might have been better. The story follows the lives and struggles of the Buendia family and the village of Macondo for a period of one hundred years. Having a family tree to view and being able to look back in the book would have been helpful. That being said, the beauty of the story and language made a great audiobook, too. My only regret is that I was not able to read the original in Spanish, which I’m sure, would be even better. Great narrator!

I have not read this book, since I cannot find it on Kindle--a requirement for my eyesight. The audible version is offered, but listening poses problems similar to reading small print, for me. Please, Amazon, consider offering this classic in a regular Kindle format. Thank you!

This is not a review of the novel. I have read it before, but I wanted to experience it as an Audible book to see how it would compare. I find it impossible to read these days, so. The problem was with Audible or actually my lack of proper hardware/software. The app was not compatible with my Ipod or my Android phone. So, I cancelled my attempt to communicate with the Audibles, but then I got an email from those pin heads making it clear to me that although Years of Solitude was strictly promotional and free, I no longer have access to it. Personally, I think that sucks. What if I decide to move into the twenty second century and get up to date hardware????? I'm gonna want my book you stingy bastards!!!!!John Lewis

Think this would be a good book to read rather than listen too. Too much going on to stay focused on

The Author portrays his characters in a parody of clichés, that makes the visualisation and representation of each individual character and organised convolution, as rich in imagery as the book itself.