Rating: 
Summary: A Marvelous Novel -- Thank you Oprah!
Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude attempts to define the human element by telling the story of a family in a fictional Latin American town, Macondo. The book recounts the rise to and fall from prominence for both the town and the family. The story begins with the romantic dreams of the town's founder, Jose Arcadio Buendia, and ends with the ruin of his family line , his house in disrepair and hurricanes ravaging the city he endeavored to make great. Mr. Marquez admirably tells the story of Buendia and all his descendents without losing the individuality of any of the characters. Though the Buendias tend to name sons and daughters after their grandparents, creating a confusing family tree, each member of the Buendia family has a distinct personality. Solitude undoubtedly prompts the reader to think about his or her own family tree and roots, and eventually what it is to be human. Maruqez's Nobel-prize winning talent shines best in two specific areas. First, it shows in the style Marquez crafted from the influences of everyone from Cervantes to Faulkner, magical-realism. Marquez credits his grandmother for the storytelling style. Magical realism affords him the luxury to describe a block of ice as a glittering wonder and the appearance of ghosts in the in a nonchalant manner. Though disconcerting at first, the style is both clear and exudes the charm of a child experiencing everything for the first time. Marquez also dazzles in his ability to probe at the heart of the human element. Colonel Aureliano Buendia, the patriarch of Macondo's son, is seen as a cyclic person, who begins his life sequestered in a workshop making golden fish to sell at market, and after losing 32 consecutive wars, dies in the same shop making the same fish, which he eventually melts down to make more fish. Still other characters, scarred by the death of husbands lock themselves in large mansions, forgotten by everyone. The climax of the epic is the invasion of the small town after a foreigner discovers the quality of the bananas grown there. The banana company comes to Macondo, separating the white settlement with a fence from the natives and mistreating the workers. In the end, however, everyone is forced to leave Macondo except the last remaining Buendia descendents who, embroiled in an incestuous love affair, fail to notice the danger of the storms or the fire ants to are always eating away at their house. It may sound depressing, but what it strikes the reader as most is as the unalterable flow of human history, a bleak cautionary tale. A great Oprah pick! A great buy! Another Amazon.com Quick Pick would be a startling novel by Tom Grimes with the difficult to remember title, WILL@epicqwest.com. Another reviewer mentioned, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez. I enjoyed it, too, although it's quite modest. I'm not sure Oprah can cover all these novels -- but one never knows!
Rating: 
Summary: And the point is?
Review: The book jumps all over the place, and the point is? Magical? I suppose so. Depressing? Oh yeah. Why does Oprah pick one depressing book after another?
Rating: 
Summary: fantasy stated as fact. pretty cool.
Review: From my first sessions reading this book I was struck by how the magical things that happened in Macondo and it's surrounding areas were described as if they were no stranger than the every day tasks of the characters involved. By nature of Marquez's story telling style beautiful women ascending to the heavens, gypsies on magic carpets, and a man's prophetic visions of his death seem almost less wonderous than Macondo's introduction to many technologies that we consider so commonplace (locomotives, telephones, ice). The characters run the gamut of emotions, gifts, and afflictions though most of them are members of the Buendia family. There is plenty to absorb, maybe too much for me. It was hard for me to be introduced to a group of characters just to see them kick the bucket and then start over again with a next generation. Especially when they shared the same names, gaah! But I think that is intentional. I started to focus on traits of the family as a whole rather than those of the individuals. Anyway, I enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: A Story Beyond Your Imagination
Review: Fascinating, fantastic, and beyond your imagination, One Hundred Years of Solitude is easy to read, easy to grasp, and utterly compelling. A page-turner of the highest calibre, it will keep you glued to its amazing story of one family in a time of myths and magic, bravery and brutality, reality and insanity, war, and wealth and poverty. Everyone will enjoy reading this book. It's awesome. And truly a world beyond your wildest dreams!!
Rating:
Summary: Alpha with a trick Omega!
Review: I have no clue what Oprah has said about this novel, but because she has chosen this book for you to read, I can assure you she is an astute reader after all. This is the book, my friends. You can read this over and over and over again, learning new things each time. In fact, you might need to. The names tend to run together a bit, which is actually part of the point, or one of the points. You'll have to see for yourself. The language of the translation is beautiful, even Biblical at times. And the Biblical allusions help you make sense of the story--the deluge, the apocalypse. You'll see. And I mean you might see it literally. After I read this book the first time, I found myself wandering through a large suburban shopping mall, when I beheld ahead of me an immense Spanish gallion in the overgrown jungle. I literally experienced the world of the book without meaning to in that moment, and I'm not alone. Thank you, Oprah, for reminding us how brilliant this book is, and how difficult it is to discuss, to wrap words around. Thank you Mr. Garcia Marquez!
Rating:
Summary: LIFE CHANGING!!!
Review: A very dramatic, drama-queen, serious, splash of Harry Potter, imaginative, and yet very soap opera every day book... there are people I know in it and yet it's so magical. It's a great read for a temporary escape into what seems like another planet and it stays with you for quite a while when you're done.
It does what I've always wanted a book to do for me and I hope you read it too! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Be prepared to be enchanted . . .
Review: I read this book when it was first published . . . years ago. It's still at the top of my all time favorite books. The book is a rainbow of three-dimensional magic put on blank pages in black and white. I read the book at least once a year and am amazed to find something new each time...even after all these years. When you finish the book, don't be surprised to find yourself stepping out of a dream and back into the real world. Only in the mind of the master can a wounded arm turn into a field of butterfiles. If you like this book, you might want to try Marquez's new autobiography (the first of a planned triolgy), LIVING TO TELL THE TALE. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Oprah is to books as KFC is to Chicken
Review: I've heard almost everwhere about people saying this was the greatest book they have ever read, I often don't think much of peoples comments with statements like that and put them in a category under recommended reading. After reading this book however; I started a new category called "avoid at all costs." The book has high hopes comparing itself to the creation story and the first 5 books of the Bible, I don't beleive critics should even repeat this comparison because it is so off kilter. The story tells the plight of a south american family and its countless generations struggle with society and establishing norms. However, the book drags into a boring and overwritten lull, each page made me cry because I am in no ways a fast reader and it moved me to tears to realize that I had lost about 18 hours of my life over the course of three months, and you need that many breaks when you pick up a book like this. If there was anything good to come out of this was the realization that a number of books tell the same story a lot better for instance John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" and his other master work "The Grapes of Wrath." You treasure every page in those books.
Rating: 
Summary: One hundred years of overrated
Review: I usually love anything that our girl Oprah says to love. But not this time. This book was good, but at some times it was hard to follow. This novel was difficult to keep straight. I probablly would have given it a extra star if everyone wasn't named Jose something or something Jose(sorry, I can't get the accent thing to work). This novel did run the gauntlet from comedy to tragedy and love to death to war and everything in between witch made it very emotional. This book was also a kind of history textbook witch is ok if history is in your blood (no pun intended) but it is not in mine. Irregardless it was emotionally satisfing. But it could have been improved if it could have been simplified.
Rating:
Summary: Great but complex book
Review: This is not the easiest book you pick up. It is complicated, but when you get pass that it is one of the most facinating books you can get a hold of. A definite must read.
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