About this title: A beguiling mix of politics, magic, romance, and sex, the saga of the mysterious history of the Buendia family of the village of Macondo does nothing less than recapitulate the entire history of the human race. Written with little regard for traditional novelistic conventions, Garcia Marquez's novel incorporates emotional responses in lieu of plot, a cyclical approach to fractured time lines, and many different characters with similar or identical names. The first of a wave of Spanish-language novels characterized by what came to be known as magical realism, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE was ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060740450ISBN:0060740450
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean pages, no marks or tears, reading wear with creases on cover & corners bent up, scratches, chipping on edges, tight binding, Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 458 p. Oprah's Classics Book Club Selections, 3. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: 15th printing;
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books / A Bard Book
Date Published: 1971
ISBN-13:9780380015030ISBN:038001503X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Minor crease to spine; general aging. Minor, occasional underlining within text. Edge water stains to already age-toned pages. 383p. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. The rise and fall of the fictional Buendia family, "the noble and stunningly beautiful story of this family is alive with a truth and understanding that strike the soul. " read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780380015030ISBN:038001503X
Description: Acceptable. Overall below average used book. May have highlighting, underlining, notes, price sticker on cover, or be an ex-library book. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1970
ISBN-13:9780380015030ISBN:038001503X
Description: Acceptable. Used paperback in acceptable condition. May shows either signs of heavy use or wear. May have clipped corner on cover or wavy cover. A good reading copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060740450ISBN:0060740450
Description: Very Good. First printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Slight cover wear with minor scuffing to edges. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060740450ISBN:0060740450
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060740450ISBN:0060740450
Description: Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dustcover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "from the library of" labels. Return Policy Any defects, damages, or material differences with your item, must be reported to us within 7 days of receipt of the item or 30 days from date of shipment. The returned merchandise must be ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060740450ISBN:0060740450
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. Return Policy Any defects, damages, or material differences with your item, must be reported to us within 7 days of receipt of the item or 30 days from date of shipment. The returned merchandise must be postmarked within 30 days of the shipment notification. Non-deliveries must be reported ... read more
"Gabriel Garcia Marquez himself has expressed bemusement over the outrageous success of this seminal work. He said in a conversation with a fellow novelist:
Most critics don't realize that a novel like One Hundred Years of Solitude is a bit of a joke, full of signals to close friends; and so, with some pre-ordained right to pontificate they take on the responsibility of decoding the book and risk making terrible fools of themselves.
Prior to finishing 100 Years I tended to believe this might just be the self conscious protestations of an author both uncomfortable and embarrassed by his own success. Now, after having finished the book I still think that is partially true, but for the most part I think he was being honest. And I don't mean that as an insult to the book - in fact I think that is one of the things that makes this book worth reading.
It's the bizarre, nonsensical rambling quality that sets this book apart from other 'masterpieces'. It is a style that will either captivate or put people off completely. I can honestly sympathize with both reactions and found myself somewhere in the middle. I really enjoyed the beautiful and distinctive writing - this is the novel's real strength in my opinion and I can't imagine what the experience of reading this in the original Spanish must be like! But, simple minded reader that I am, I also really felt the lack of a cohesive plot. This book was easy to put down for days (sometimes weeks) at a time. But then again I was always glad to pick it back up and resume my journey with the fascinating Buendia family. I'm not entirely convinced every book needs to be a page turner. The characters are dynamic and captivating and days after putting this down I'm still thinking about them. Why couldn't Amaranta forgive herself or Rebeca? How could Colonel Aureliano Buendia have the capacity for war and art and yet lack passion? And finally, the concept of solitude (expressed on almost every page) is something near and dear to my heart.
Ultimately, I feel like I lack the basic socio-political knowledge of Colombia and Latin America to even begin to dissect this novel so I'm not even going to attempt being one of those 'terrible fools' and 'pontificate' on the meaning of this classic.
**My final verdict - Everything you've heard is true - this is a dense and confusing work, but there are rewards to be had for those who persevere."
"Never has a story been told so magically, eloquently, and with such attention to detail. Marquez transports the reader to a fantastic world which is as full of truth and emotion as it is of wonder and absurdity. If you are like me, you will read this book time and time again."
"More like A Hundred Years of Torture. I read this partly in a misguided attempt to expand my literary horizons and partly because my uncle was a big fan of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Then again, he also used to re-read Ulysses for fun, which just goes to show that you should never take book advice from someone whose IQ is more than 30 points higher than your own.
I have patience for a lot of excesses, like verbiage and chocolate, but not for 5000 pages featuring three generations of people with the same names. I finally tore out the family tree at the beginning of the book and used it as a bookmark! To be fair, the book isn't actually 5000 pages, but also to be fair, the endlessly interwoven stories of bizarre exploits and fantastical phenomena make it seem like it is. The whole time I read it I thought, "This must be what it's like to be stoned." Well, actually most of the time I was just trying to keep the characters straight. The rest of the time I was wondering if I was the victim of odorless paint fumes. However, I think I was simply the victim of Marquez's brand of magical realism, which I can take in short stories but find a bit much to swallow in a long novel. Again, to be fair, this novel is lauded and loved by many, and I can sort of see why. A shimmering panoramic of a village's history would appeal to those who enjoy a human tragicomedy laced heavily with fantasy. It's just way too heavily laced for me."
"This is not a review. This is what I wrote immediately after reading this book:
At the forehead I said, "Father."
I was standing on the side of the highway when the explosions began. To the south, in the distance I assumed to be Sacramento, enormous poppings and booms were heard and towers of black smoke darted into the sky. I instinctively began to make the sign of the cross, slowly at first, whispering "Lord have mercy." As the explosions increased in intensity and repetition, so did my prayer and the rapidity with which I made the sign of the cross. No one knew if the explosions were caused by bombs or an industrial accident of some sort. As long as the explosions sounded I did not cease my prayer. The valley sky darkened with soot. My arm grew sore from the fervent, repeated motions and my throat was parched by the hot air.
At my lower intestine, the seat of the passions, I said, "Son."
Earlier that day I had retreated to the last stall in the women's restroom at the data-processing center where I work. Hot, desperate tears spilled silently from my eyes. He only weighed one hundred pounds, she was only 32.
At my right shoulder I said, "Holy."
Seven hours later as I drove home from work I saw a bulky man jogging with a small, caramel-colored terrier sprinting ahead of him on a long leash. I was amazed at the speed with which the small dog propelled himself along the sidewalk. He was not trotting, but leaping. I laughed with a buoyant and unexpected joy in my heart. It was a much needed respite from the every day road kill that would always bring a lump to my throat. By the time I reached the next stop light I was weeping, again.
At my left shoulder I said, "Spirit."
The boys who had left him naked and bleeding in a cornfield did not feel any remorse at what they had done. When someone suggested they apologize to the victim's family the boys became indignant. "This is the truth of how we felt at the time we kicked him in the head," they scoffed. At the trial, the defense called upon a bio-anthropologist from the university to testify to the irrepressible, primal instincts of alpha males and the innate, biological urge to eliminate weaker members of the pack with whom they compete for food, jobs and trucks.
This was the beginning of the time when the bees began to die."
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