Rating: 
Summary: A Magical Ride Through a Magical Time
Review: Gabriel Garcia Marquez takes the reader on a magical carpet ride through stories so intriguing and fantastic that you cannot leave the book until it is finished. Marquez proves that imagination of an artist is a more potent healing agent than a journalistic narration of "facts." A tour de force! If you read only one book this year let it be the 100 Years of Solitude.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, Magical Tale
Review: The best way for me to describe this book is that it's a very long folklore tale. That seems to be the simplest
discription of Magical Realism. You can hear it in your head, being passed down between the generations. Each
chapter feels like it represents one story that is told at one sitting; they compound on each other to make this
wonderful story complete.
The fantastic elements of this story take on mythic qualities; explaining those things in the world that seem to be
unexplainable without the notion of some kind of spiritual intervention. The characters in the book, as well as the
reader, must have faith that these explanations are true or else the story is nothing but a passionate fable.
Be prepared when reading this book: GGM is a gifted writer. Every sentence is full of discription and
information that must be savored in order the grasp its complexity. Not one idea is out of place; every word is
deliberate. This translation is pain-stakingly good, as well.
It may take a while to get into this book - give it time. The end is well worth the effort. Also, keep a flag on the
Buendia Family Tree as the names and lineages will get a little confusing!
Rating:
Summary: Same Old Story
Review: I read this book about six months ago (before Oprah added it to her book club), and I was very impressed. I'm a fairly slow reader, so the book took me about three weeks to read, but that is by no means a bad thing! For those three weeks I was completely absorbed in Marquez's world - I'd be driving down the road thinking of Macondo and the people in it! It's easilly one of my favorite books, but i'll admit there are parts that seem to drag on a little. What bothers me is that people are giving the book bad ratings for it being "depressing." Sure, sad things happen in the book, generations die, new ones are born and eventually they die. Tragic love stories seem to be almost a dime a dozen in this book, major characters can unexpectedly die in a single paragraph. But even through all this I don't think the book should be categorized as depressing. It's trying to make a point about our lives in a very general way. Time repeats, generations make the same mistakes of their ancestors, and in a sense everything is the same old story. Ever know a person that you could go up to in six months and you'd know their story wouldn't change much - they'd still have car problems, family problems, the same job problems, hate the same people, etc etc. Things do seem to repeat in this world just like in the book. And One Hundred Years of Solitude has a lot to say about that, though not directly (you have to pull out your own meaning). The theme of solitude also runs parallel to the repetition. The town is isolated from the rest of the country (for a long time they thought they were almost surrounded by water). The Buendia's (the family in the book) are isolated from the rest of the town in many ways (there's even a lot of incest). The individual people even isolate themselves upon failure - and inevitably it is this solitude that causes things to never change and causes these people to die in such a depressing way. So, if anything, this book is uplifting in its message to break the cycle.It's one of those books that I liked but didn't love until it was completely done (the last paragraph and sentence seemed to almost make the whole book). It seemed to all hit me in the end and let me see what a tragedy had really happened, but still in a very uplifting way. I recommend this book to anyone that's willing to be challenged and has some time to invest. Maybe the cycle will be broken and things won't be the same old story for you anymore!
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Summary: One Hundred Years of Solitude at the top of the lists?
Review: Now that's a mixed blessing. Thanks, Oprah. I have read this book maybe 20 times in the past 15 years. It is like going back to your favorite place, or to your favorite memory. In a few pages, and with astonishing clarity, wit and poetry, Garcia Marquez creates an allegory of the history of mankind. And he makes it look so easy. The final 2 pages of this book alone should qualify as one of literature's greatest achievements. While some may argue that "Love in the time of cholera" is his best book, "One Hundred years" is by far his most ambitious and engrossing read. Be warned: This is a book that rewards the effort that it takes to read. It is not easy. It is not "light". It is a very complex work by one of the greatest writers in the history of mankind. Read it carefully, savor it, understand it, think about it. The language is beautiful (at least in Spanish it is), the images unforgetable. I wish I could read it for the first time again. I hope that Oprah took her time to explain this. Otherwise, there may be a lot of disappointed people... and it would be a shame to be disappointed because you approached this book with the wrong expectations. Many people here are complaining: "all the characters have the same names" This is not necessarily true... they do share the same names (Jose Arcadio and Aureliano), but there's always something that distinguishes them. If you get confused, you can always go to the family tree that's provided. "it is boring". As I said, it is NOT an easy read. If you want something easy, this is not the book for you. It takes time to read it properly. It takes longer to understand it properly. "it is crap / why did he win a Nobel / etc". Approach it with the right expectations, and you won't be disappointed. Garcia Marquez's style is very unique. If you want to try something similar, but shorter, try "Chronicle of a death foretold". Don't be put off by the negative reviews. Read it carefully, and you're in for one of the greatest stories ever told. Oh, and if you can, try reading it in Spanish. I'm sure that the translator did a very good job, and I'm also sure that he could not replicate the beauty of Garcia Marquez's words.
Rating:
Summary: Worth The Journey
Review: This one at times I had to struggle through, but in the end the whole thing came together wonderfully like separate ingredients that make up a delicious pie. It was, however, depressing. I had to go and pick up my copy of "The Little Guide To Happiness" and read that over. LOL. Regardless, this one is well written.
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Summary: Thank you Oprah. Now N Americans will finally read Marquez
Review: This is one of the greatest books in all modern literature. I applaud Oprah for bringing it to the attention of North Americans. Thanks to her, this book will get the attention from North Americans that it deserves. It is already well known throughout Latin America. I first read this book when I was a Spanish literature major in college. It was my first introduction to magical realism. I don't know whether Garcia Marquez originated this style of writing, but he is certainly one of the first. Many authors now copy his style. Garcia Marquez is one of the world's great writers. And this is one of his best books. While long, it is worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: A true classic !
Review: "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterpiece, the one novel he was born to write. Having said that, don't fool yourself by thinking that the book is an easy read, because it is not! At least it is not an easy read to begin with, but hang in there - it is evidently worth the struggle! Make sure that you get an edition that has a family tree of the Buendía family in front of the book. Ear-dog that page, as you will use it repeatedly while working your way through this book. I mean, how many Josés, Aurelianos, or Remedios can you possibly remember and/or distinguish between? "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is the story of the small village 'Macondo' hidden the jungle of Colombia. José Arcadio Buendía was the founder of this village, and it is the story of him and his family that keeps you spellbound through the 400+ pages. After finishing this book you will understand why Garcia Marques won the Nobel Prize. This is one of my all time favorite books. I have read it twice, and I am currently reading the book in its original language. I couldn't recommend it more highly. A great read!
Rating: 
Summary: I was surprised!
Review: I was surprised that Oprah picked this book. Perhaps she chose it to challenge her readers, but it is definitely not the spiritually uplifting material that I would associate with Oprah. The book is memorable to me because of its difference in style and because it is depressing. After this one, Oprah's readers will be yearning for something much more "light" in both style and heart.
Rating:
Summary: A novel full of treasure
Review: I'm suprised that it is only now that Oprah found this gem! After all, One Hundred Years of Solitude is enjoyed by millions for so many years now. Gabriel Garcia Marquez proves that he is Colombia's best novelist with this masterpiece. His poetic words, complemented with magical realism, will leave the reader enchanted. He will be taken to places he has never been and would wonder whether these places are even real. Reading this classic tale of the Buendia family will leave you amazed especially at the end of the novel where all pieces of the puzzle fit. This is the best book I've read!
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Magic realism plus rich, beautiful latin culture combines to make a beautiful novel of a town's history. So many wonderfully impossible things happen that this was just a treat to read, even during the heart wrenching moments. I think it's one of the riskier books for Oprah's club, but I can't wait to see what people say. Splendid!
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