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One Hundred Years of Solitude
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ugh i had to read that book last year...
Marquez polluted what could have been a truly epic experience with characters recycling name after name with each new birth. This, I'm sure, would not have been a hindrance to readers devouring chunks of pages in a single sitting. However, I am a casual reader snipping away a few dozen pages a day if lucky. "One Hundred Years" was further doomed by it's designation as my work book -- toted around in my backpack and taken out for readings between appointments, meetings, and trainings which are often only ten minute wisps. In this way, names were readily criss-crossed to obscurity. "Which Jose Arcadio is this one?" I would often find myself asking. This matter was complicated further as each section of narrative would cover a span of time only to be followed by a section of narrative jumping back to a prior time in order to follow another character. In this way, characters who had drifted into obscurity during a focus on the Colonel Aureliano Buendia were resurrected to the narrative. There were a number of times that I had to recall who Pilar Ternera had been, which child belonged to whom, which mistress had belonged to which adulterer.
Perhaps, that speaks to a greater issue. Marquez takes over 400 pages to juggle a cast that balloons at every new decade. Each addition to the Buendia line brings an entourage of supporting characters. In order to barrel through the complex nature of the family, Marquez does not waste significant time fleshing out his creation. It forces the necessity of lurching back and forth between timelines in order to pick up a characterization that had been left off 100 pages ago. Marquez relies heavily on telling the reader what is going on. We are not lead to understand a particular character's emotional attachment to his family, we are told out right that he feels no attachment to his family. I could dismiss this as a fact that I am not reading an American author, that I have developed a strong taste for show-don't-tell writing. This may very well be the case. But no matter my preference, the effect is a slow plodding narrative which does not engage the reader.
My final verdict on this one, is that it was worth the effort. I'm glad that I read it. I will probably suggest it to others and I will more than likely try my hand at Marquez's other works. There are scenes that very clearly cling to my thoughts having finished the book. That is a good sign for any novel. The not-quite-rise and fall of Macando which Marquez paints through the complex lens of the Buendia family is minutely detailed, widely populated, and rich in history. While some of the characters are forgettable and the narrative unsuitable for overly casual reading, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is a lush portrait of humanity's struggle against time and memory. The overall emotion effect of the novel makes it worthwhile.