Rating: 
Summary: better studied than read
Review: 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', as most of the other reviewers agree, is a tremendous achievement. In a sometimes indirect fashion, it chronicles the soul and psyche of 19th century Colombians as the 'civilized' world sweeps into their lives, turns it upside-down, then recovers. The author achieves this by tracing generations of an extended family in a remote village, glued together by a strange mixture of heredity, emotion, and mysticism. This is not historical fiction by any means. However it perfectly projects a sense of ... I don't know ... spirit? soul? of the local people. One cannot help but feel that the author has written something unique.Despite all this goodness, the book is difficult to read. At times the author seems to be rambling aimlessly, talking about the (too) many characters with identical (or nearly identical) names. But I sense not a single word was written without a strong purpose. Therefore I recommend NOT reading the book alone but rather share it, discuss it with folks interested in Latin American society. I did not do this, and I fear I simply read many portions of the book without fully appreciating what was written.
Rating:
Summary: A world in itself
Review: Vargas LLosa, another great writer, said once that the novelist is a God-killer, who creates and manipulates his own world. Perhaps the finest example of this truth is this novel by Garcia Marquez. A metaphor of Colombia's history it may be, but that interpretation would be excessively narrow. Garcia Marquez creates a world with its own physical rules, its own gods and its own destiny. It traces the story of the Buendia family and Macondo, the town they founded and that will exist as long as the lineage exists. Of course, this is a thoroughly unpredictable novel, precisely because it does not follow the rules of the world we live in. The characters are complex but they are archetypical. Another revieweer correctly described the categories and personalities of women and men, and of the people sharing a particular name. This novel prompted the surge of "magical realism" and modern Latin American literature. Unfortunately although predictably, many bad imitations have followed, like the very bad "Like water for chocolate". Don't read imitations, come to the real thing where unbelievable events happen without ever becoming corky. The novel has biblical aspirations, and I could feel that throughout it all. It will rain for forty years; a man will stay enclosed in his room for years; a blood stain will wander the town. Extremely well written, it is a demandind text, not to be read while answering phone calls. Its beauty remains unsurpassed in its genre. It is perfectly woven and tightly knit, and it will stay with you for ever.
Rating:
Summary: MUST READ!
Review: This is a book that comes but once in a lifetime. Everyone should read it. It is an interesting journey that will allow your mind and senses to places they've never been before. Don't be scared by its number of pages, it is an adventure one should undergo at least once.
Rating:
Summary: Unmissable
Review: Hailed by many as Márquez's finest literary work, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendía family, who live and work in the South American jungle. Márquez unites great wit and comic timing with philosophy to produce the extraordinary book, and the combination of fantasy, magic and reality makes for enthralling reading. Laughter and tragedy, love and death are all bound together by Garcia's unique writing style. There is exploration and adventure, but always with a slight tinge of sadness and nostalgia. Márquez brings you into the Buendía family and lets you experience their joys and triumphs, failures and disappointments at first hand. You experience life through their eyes, and become intimately acquainted with their fears, hopes and dreams. In 1982 Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and his other works include Love in the time of the Cholera and Of Love and Other Demons, as well as several short story collections. In all his books he invokes real emotion from the reader, and One Hundred Years of Solitude is no different. Whilst reading this book you are sent into an almost trance-like state, and become completely enveloped in the story. Fantasy and reality are intertwined so closely that it becomes impossible to tell the difference. Márquez also explores the notion of time, as the later generations in Macondo repeat the experiences of the first generations. The names people receive are also relevant-for example all 17 Aurelianos are articulate, solitary men, and all Jose Arcadios are enterprising and energetic. This is a challenging read-I found myself turning to the front page to look at the family tree many times. However, this is an excellent book, destined to become a classic. An unmissable read, by perhaps the greatest author of our times.
Rating:
Summary: Round and round she goes.....
Review: Garcia-Marquez's masterpiece is the fountainhead of an entire genre (often termed magical realism), though it has yet to be duplicated. Getting into this style of book is remniscent of falling asleep - you can't do it if you try. Once you are comfortably into the book - which many people fail to achieve - reading it is much like a dream, which only ends when you reach the end of the book and awake from the reverie that Garcia-Marquez has created. This experience alone makes the book worthwhile. The story itself concerns the lives of several generations of the Buendia family, in the mythical town of Macando. The story is intensely cyclical, with the names, personalities, and fortunes of the townsfolk repeating again and again, from the foundation of the town until its bitter end. While at times confusing, the bewilderment the story creates adds to its dream-like effects. One Hundred Years of Solitude is an immensely satisfying book, and a literary experience like no other. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Do you enjoy dreaming?
Review: Forget about the complexity of the story. This book is not meant to be a nice story with a happy ending. Enjoy reading it. Enjoy how little details are connected. Enjoy how feelings are described. Enjoy how destiny can not be fooled (and if it is, the consequences of it). After reading it, 6 months after, one year after, open it again. Do not worry, open it in the middle, without the rush of not knowing the end, and enjoy the story. Get caught by the feeling that every sentence was thoroughly thought and written. Discover how Jose Arcadio Buendía realized that time was not going forward or how Ursula Iguarán learned that time was going in circles...who was right?? Only then the book will open its magic to you. Start dreaming!
Rating:
Summary: years of solitude
Review: Though I'm not a Colombian, I found lots of historical events that could be taken as metaphores of the history of my country, so I think that you can change the names of people and places but the history of Latin American countries is just one, and can be understood through this extraordinary book. The most important historical facts are the war between conservatives and liberals, the fight of workers for their rights and the way the conflict were (still are???) solved in these countries. I was also impressed by the perfection of Gabriel García Marquez style.
Rating:
Summary: Magical Reality
Review: This book is Magical. Magical in the sense that time isn't constant, dead people talk, spells and curses actually take effect et cetera. Forget about things like consistency, clarity and thoroughgoing logic and this book is about as pleasurable and beautiful as the written word can get.
Rating:
Summary: Magic Realism no es un Oxymoron
Review: I was sitting on top of Healabhal Bheag, the Little Holy Mountain, on the Duirnish Peninsula, on the Isle of Skye, in the Kingdom of Alba, dangling my legs off the edge of the Known Universe, when a band of gypsies, led by one Melquiades, came up from the West, playing "Don't Be Cruel" on bagpipes and bodhrains. Melquiades hemself handed me a small package, wrapped in Clan MacLeod tartan and tied with 17 gauge catgut and Kevlar composite. As I untied the bundle, the clouds parted and the sun passed behind the moon. Inside were 422 sheets of parchment, handmade from Egyptian papyrus before Moses was plucked from the river and inked with the blood of 16 vestal virgins, caught leaving for the coast. On a cover sheet, printed in black and white on Hammermill bond in 12 point Arial type by an HP 4MP LaserJet printer, was the title, "Cien Anos de Soledad", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated by Gregory Rabassa. I started reading. The wonder and folly of modern civilization began dancing before my eyes. Just then it started raining. The ink ran and the parchment disintegrated. The band of gypsies wandered off playing "Purple Haze" and our picnic lunch was eaten by the ants.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing and Marvelous
Review: There are relatively few books that I've had to read for my college classes and truly enjoyed. This was one of them. Now, be warned: this is not a clear-cut story; the prose can be confusing, and the repetition of names makes it more difficult by far to keep track of who is who. The novel does indeed cover one-hundred years, so expect to see favorite characters die if they first appear early on. There is no one protagonist. The family is the protagonist--the family, and the town. Perhaps despite these potential confusions and perhaps because of them, Marquez has woven in this book a shroud of mysteriousness and magical realism that make reading it something like stepping into a dream; his Macondo is like nowhere else on Earth (or at least nowhere I have ever heard of), and things at once comic, tragic, and unreal can happen there. You will find dreamers and would-be scientists, layabouts and soldiers, matriarchs and wantons in this enchanted household. Enchantment of a murky sort hovers over the land like a haze, touching everything and separating the descendants of Jose Arcadio from the world as we know it. You may not want to read it in one sitting; you may find yourself putting it down for awhile, confused or exasperated by the latest turn of events, but it is quite likely that you will pick it up again in due course with curiousity drawing you back into the realm Marquez has created. As classics go, this is one worthy of the title, and it is a story to be savored.
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