100 years of Solitude by Marquez (1 Viewer)

[hotel3alpha]

All,

It is a shame that I have just now read this book, but I thought it was going to a 100 years to read it. This book is immensely rich in prose and the characters...oh the characters are absolutely riveting. To imagine I went to a book store and said to myself "just pick out a title that grabs your attention" and lo and behold I come home with a dollar book called 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez. What luck and now I understand why this book won the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 1982. Wow...

I must admit that I used spark notes and a genealogy matrix to stay on course with the successive generations of the Buendia's. The Spark Notes website filled in the some of the blanks (or reiterated) parts of the story that I got a little lost on. Please understand that it is not a difficult book to read, rather I personally have difficulty reading. The best part of the book is creating a picture in your mind of what the characters look like...especially Remedios the Beauty. Marquez writes the following about her:

"Remedios the Beauty was proclaimed queen. Úrsula, who shuddered at the disquieting beauty of her great-granddaughter, could not prevent the choice. The most impetuous men would go to church with an aim to see, if only for an instant, the face of Remedios the Beauty, whose legendary good looks were spoken of with alarming excitement throughout the swamp." — from One Hundred Years of Solitude

John from Texas

 

[jazzeum]

You're a better man that I am. Never attempted that one.

I'm now reading A Legacy by Sybille Bedford. I find it an odd book. Although I'm almost done with it, I can't say I've loved the book.

http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/a_legacy/

 

[hotel3alpha]

Jazz,

Remember I just picked out a title at the dollar book store, not knowing anything about the story, author or what have you. But it was good. No, it was really good! The story is certainly character driven and it is those characters that are left to your imagination. Like I said though, it was a tough read. Not as tough as The Thing about Thugs (that I just read) but keeping up with the generations and the consistent practice of naming the characters after their fathers over and over.

My goal was two books a month, but 100 Years took a whole month and a few days to read. Right now I am reading Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang which is a bit more easier to read. It is her account of China's Cultural Revolution in Shanghai viewed from the standpoint of a 12 year old school girl. So, far it is pretty good.

Oh, one last thing Jazz, I thought of all people you would have tackled 100 years!

John from Texas