#worldclassics

One Hundred Years of Solitude a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Genre –

Historical fiction, magical realism, family drama, Spanish classic

What is it about –

Published in Columbia in 1967, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was written originally in Spanish and later translated to 37 languages. It is considered a masterpiece of literature.

The book is about the Buendia family based in an isolated town, Macondo in Latin America, that is founded by them.

The story spans across a century and takes us through seven generations of Buendias against the backdrop of a changing Macondo from a small town with a handful of settlers to a thriving centre with the arrival of railroad, cinema and immigrants.

The mad ingenuity and pioneering spirit of Jose Arcadio Buendia and the hard working, practical nature of his wife Ursula sow the seeds of the Buendia family, weaving a tale that takes the reader on a roller coaster journey filled with emotions, tragedies, fantasies, wild ambitions, foolish ventures and entrapments.

These people are purely ruled by the heart with no regard for repercussions. They loved, lost, won, lived, married, prospered, starved, interbred and guarded their ambitions and dreams with utmost tenacity and passion.

The rise and fall of the family coincide and mirror the same cycle of Macondo.

Main Characters –

Úrsula Iguarán

José Arcadio Buendía

Remedios Moscote

Fernanda del Carpio 

Aureliano Buendía

Amaranta Buendía 

Amaranta Úrsula Buendía 

José Arcadio Segundo

Aureliano Segundo

Aureliano José

Book Evaluation -

Rarely you will find a family where every member is a unique character, each has his own destiny carved by himself and the present generation being as different from the one preceding it as it is similar.

You come across gypsies with their inventions of flying carpets, false teeth and ice, murders of family members, clandestine and publicised love affairs, maniacal studies in workshops, civil wars and absconding wives and sons...the list goes on making the book a very colourful, imaginative and interesting read. History and fantasy, tragedy and comedy, love and vengeance, births and deaths, all form a part of the everyday lives of the Buendias.

Even though there are so many characters, each character is given ample time to shine and carve a niche for itself in the family as well as in the reader’s mind.

The author has written the multi generation story so effortlessly that even though the names of most of the characters are similar with even similar traits, we easily remember them distinctly.

What intrigued me the most was the title of the book. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that majority of the action happens within the family house, often described as “madhouse” by Ursula, the family matriarch. The Buendias are shown to be selfish, self-centred and oblivious to the world, except one or two of the clan. Each individual has his/her own fancies, ambitions and whims and lives without any regard for the other family members, the town or the world in general. Be it long periods spent in experiments completely ignoring his family by the family patriarch Jose Arcadio or the whimsical elopement with the gypsies by his elder son Jose Arcadio or the undertaking and losing of 32 wars by his younger brother or the innumerable years spent by the family members shut alone in the laboratory, deciphering parchments or conducting metallurgy experiments. Even the fictional town of Macondo remains in solitude for several decades as it is bordered by forests and swamps and is unknown to the outside world.

As the years pass by, we witness multiple births, deaths, weddings, affairs, love stories, financial upheavals, expeditions and business ventures in the family. The town goes through droughts and floods, immigrant settlements, worker strikes and scandals and we see Macondo change from a close-knit community of 20 initial settlers to a bustling, free spirited centre full of immigrants.

There is so much happening in the book at the same time involving so many people, it seems you are watching a reality tv show that is wild, obnoxious, bordering on the thin line between reality and fantasy, shocking, dramatic, tragic, comic, sensitive, and even uplifting at times. Every word, every line, every incident moves the story forward.

In India we call a movie with all the above elements a masala potboiler. I would like to give this book the same name, but of an epic scale.

The writing style awakens a curiosity in the reader to know the fate of every character and ultimately the fate of the family and Macondo.

Your takeaway? As in the case of every masala Hindi movie made – entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.

Favourite Lines –

I couldn’t find any striking or noteworthy line to remember from any character. The book is to be devoured as a whole. But a line by Ursula s worth mentioning here, “Life comes a full circle.”

App Mention –

I listened to the story on the Storytel app in the voice of Peter Silverleaf. His voice complements the emotion and drama in the story and makes it all the more interesting to listen.

Recommendation –

DO READ the book to lose yourself in a magical and mystical world created by the author and filled with wonderful, mad, crazy, lively and passionate characters. This piece of stunning literature will cause the lines of reality and magic to blur for you and carry you along on a journey as enthralling as the citizens of the town of Macondo experienced on the flying carpets of gypsies.

I haven’t placed the book in the MUST READ category simply because I felt this book is not everyone’s cup of tea.

MUST READ/DO READ/CAN BE READ/CAN BE SKIPPED

Rating – 4/5

Ambience – 4

Language – 4

Characterization – 4

Plot – 4

Pace – 4