One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Review of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

       I can honestly say that I have never read a novel quite like this one. Its 'magical realism' conjures up real human emotion and experience, while at the same time, distant memories, hopes, and dreams, which push the limits of reality. I get a distinct impression when I read this book (I have read it three times), which I cannot quite describe...one that encompasses the entire spectrum of humanity (e.g., birth, life, war, love, death, etc.). I have read a few other things by Marquez (The Autumn of the Patriarch and the novella, Leaf Storm), but this one stands out as the best. Highly recommended.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by JBH

       I have read this book many times.... from when I was in high school and as recently as a few years ago.The amazing thing about the narritive is that it takes you into a lucid world that you can actually picture in your head. What I find wonderful is the fact that the book has not changed but everytime I have read it the meaning and the picture in my head has!

       Simply beautiful, a must read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Pratik K Singh

       Although a bit confusing in the beginning with so many similarly named characters (Buendia's, Arcadios' et al) , the novel takes you smoothly through the Buendia family showing the many aspects of the human expression.

       With its seamless travels back & forth in the dimesnsion of time , the reader is lead to an interesting trip into the world of Mocando showing him the various simple but amazingly well-penned forms of human expression.

       As  I was going through this work of art during a period of a few weeks , the world of Mocando was always running in the mental background as if it deserves to exist even if it doesn't.

       Towards the end , the novel rapidy builds up to a faster-than-experienced denouement which leaves the reader in the feel of Mocando for a while.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Gupreet

       Personally, the magnificence of the book exceeded the range of what I expected. During the days I used to read it, I found myself indulged with the deterioration of this Buendia family and how the history of their town MACONDO reflected their madnesses that went with the flow of time. Actually, the novel provided me a picture of a family struggling to keep its constituents from the edge of death and uselessness, a thing remarkable which projection fits in any familial type whether contemporary or vintage.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Noirtrine Seth Vecylik

       The novel was utterly intriguing. I think and definitely believe that a sequel must be made

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Noirtrine Seth Vecylik

  One Hundred Years of Solitude is the story of six generations of the Buendia family and the changes that occur over more than 100 years in the town the family helped found. Taking the reader seemlessly from generation to generation, the book shows the good and bad of the Buendia family.

  While far-fetched and unreal at times (one character, Remedios the Beautiful, even ascended up to heaven while family members watched), the story concludes with a clever ending that is predicted in the mysterious parchment papers and decoded by the last Buendia. A very different book that is rich in character development and plot twists, One Hundred Years of Solitude stands the test of time.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by JP

  This book is written in a typical format that a majority of books written by South American authors tend to follow and that is magic realism. Due to this writing style, some may find this novel far fetched with unbelievable events. However, many beleive that the magic realism contributes greatly to the novel and beyond the magic realsim is a tale of a prominent family, the Buendias, who are faced with betrayal, love, death and a revolution as the family struggles against outside forces, forces in the family and especially forces within themselves. The novel is also seductive, but not profanely suggestive and though sex plays a role in many of the character's lives it is not a central theme. The novel instead focuses on all aspects of human trial and the importance of conviction in decision. However unbecoming the magic realsim may strike you at first, it quickly enthralls you into the story and you walk alongside the Buendia as though through a dream. I feel this novel to be truly stunning.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Diana Gerlitzki

  This is easily the best book I have ever read. The novel's power is in that it delves so deeply into every aspect of the human condition. Our wants and needs are laid bare by Marquez's prose and the reader feels uncomforably naked in his presence. The epic nature of the story encompasses all of what it means to be human, yet scales it down to the context of one family. The concentration of such scope packs the novel with an incredible intensity that finally explodes at the ending of the novel, which is so wrenching that I was in tears. This book should be required reading for the entire human race.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was reviewed by Kyra H

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