It is not an easy read…. and I found it hard to keep up with all the characters !!! I started liking it much better when I surrendered to the fact I couldn’t keep up with all the characters and gave up trying ! It’s a rich book in my opinion and worth the effort, tho’ I do like his other books better, e.g. Love in the Age of Cholera.
I absolutely loved it but it isn’t an easy read. It is more about the feel & the imagery & less about the stories – although the stories of the lives do add up into something bigger. It is just GREAT writing that we do not see nowadays. I wish I would have read it with a book club or in a lit class, there is so much to it!
I really didn’t care for it, but not every book will connect with every person, classic or not. I would still like to read “Love in the Time of Cholera.”
The first time I tried to get through it I gave up about 1/3 of the way in. I thought the problem must have been due to it being a translation. Years later I tried again after hearing that it was such a major classic. I think about 1/2 to 2/3 through I just gave up thinking “every book is not for every reader” Maybe I’ll try it again someday ……
This is my favorite book of all time. I read it for the first time when I was sixteen and have read it about 13 times since. I picked up a copy in the original Spanish but haven’t quite gotten up the courage to attempt it yet.
I am reading it now. I love Marquez, but this book is taking me longer to read than other works I have read. There is a lot to absorb and keep track of, but the characters are intriguing and wonderful. I get through a few pages each night. I know it will draw me in at some point and I will fly through the rest of it. It has been a while since I took so long to read a book. The Man of La Mancha took me 5 years, but one of my favorite reads of all time.
Love it, and I recommend after reading to consider listening to it, also. It’s a complex work. It’s a book you will find yourself thinking about. A lot. And also, I thinks it’s very common as you read it to go, ‘who the hell is this guy, now?’ I thought it was worth the work.
It’s my only tattoo! I have four sons and one of them had to be a Gabriel. I wanted an Aureliano. My husband didn’t go for that. Still love marzipan and think of Úrsula every time I see edible marzipan figures for sale. It arrived in my life at the perfect time, when I was studying in Costa Rica and met said husband.
@Valerie I got so confused with all the people of the same name, and the story droned on and on forever. At one point, a single sentence was over a page long. I didn’t understand a word on the page. Haha. I learned that magical realism is not my thing!
I would also recommend another Latin American Nobel laureates, Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Storyteller as an example of fantastical realism. Actually I loved be many of his books.
I read half of it on vacation one year but never finished it after vacation. I’ve been meaning to ever since. I had a hard time with the beliefs of the characters but my Mexican American co-worker at the told me “oh no, that’s exactly the way my Tia tells stories”. So I need to start from the beginning and not get hung up ?.
I read it in English and in Spanish and found that in Spanish I really didn’t want to put it down. I found the English translation just had something missing.
Wow – definitely a Love or Hate thing for this book..not much in between. Have been tempted to try it several times, but never have. Maybe it’s now or never!
I agree with you about his writing. I remember when I was reading Of Love and Other Demons I sort of “came to” when the phone rang; I could see, feel, and smell the port city he was writing about. I’d never experienced anything like that before.
My favorite book of all time. I love the authors books and I see why he won awards for his writing. Yes, a difficult read and not for everyone, but SO worth it. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!??
I plowed through searching for why people thought it was so wonderful. I never found it. Sometimes it isn’t the book but what the reader brings into it.
Can be read as an Eden Apocalypse story, as a Fairy Tale, as a war story, as a Family Saga, etc., etc., etc…..but the reader must willingly suspend disbelief!!!
I read it in Spanish, don’t know what the translation is like, but the book was a whirlwind. If you try to keep track of everything you stumble over the minutiae, even from the first phrase. If you have a name chart, I would pretty much ignore it unless I was hopelessly lost. Just go with it. I had to read the last part over because it seemed to fly past me.
If it is your first experience with magical realism it might be a bit much! There are other wonderful books in that genre that might be an easier entry?
Agree with many of the opinions, especially “take your time…” Love this book, one of my favorites love Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Please let us know what you thought.
i was never able to finish it. I think i stopped after about 20 pages… It never happens to me. I always try to read until the end but i just couldn’t with this one. May be i should try again… Some people say that with books there is a good timing…
It took me a while (and turning to the family tree in the front to tell the characters apart at first) to get into it, but it has since become one of my favorite books and Marquez one of my favorite authors.
It’s a short read of three or so page. I also recommend Jose Luis Borges to start out. If you’ve just started reading these types of works, you may find 100 years of solitude a bit complicated
I LOVED IT. At first I thought it was too much for me but then I went on Goodreads and read a few reviews. I followed the suggestion to copy the family chart and use it as I read. So glad I did. It did take a little effort for me. Now one of my favorite books.
Lots of fun! I have to admit that I put it down for a few months because I was overwhelmed by the amount of characters, etc.,but it is one of my favorite books.
A difficult start for me. I had to get used to keeping my finger on the page with the family tree, but turned out to be my all time favorite! And GGM became my favorite author.
I didn’t really like the book and yet, I read the whole thing. I thought it was confusing having so many people named the same. And things that are solid and things that are ephemeral in the same story.
I read it in high school. It was good, but as a high school student doing her homework, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I could have. Some day I’ll read it again. Right now, I’m actually reading Love in the Time of the Cholera, also by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and I’m really enjoying it. I do read him in Spanish, though, which helps. I find that translations don’t always do good literature justice.
Second going was harder – first time around I was wowed, entranced, not only because this book was a first or damned close. I had never ever seen magical realism before and I could not put it down. Now that many, many authors have copied the genre the reactions are diluted … kind of like seeing nudity on TV or in the movies
One of the very few books I simply could not get through. I tried a few times and finally gave up. I do hope you enjoy it, though. For the people who do, it seems to be a beloved book.
Love in the Time of Cholera is one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read. I was expecting the same from One Hundred Years of Solitude, but found it so depressing, I couldn’t finish, although I tried several times. It actually affected me emotionally for months and I finally gave up.
One of my favorites- a joy to read. The names through the generations repeat so that can be confusing. If you dig deeper into South American history, you will find actual events hat the book alludes to and I don’t think some readers realize this.
I have a love/hate relationship with Marquez. I’m disturbed by the “old man / nubile young girl” relationships in his books. On the other hand I love his use of language and imagery. This one was a definite miss for me. Still, one of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book “The world must be all f***ked up,” he said then, “when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.”
I just finished listening to this. It definitely held my interest, but I don’t think I would recommend it to others. I will say that this book has HBO or Showtime series written all over it.
Voting mostly for this piece of art. Probably the best book I’ve ever read. I was introduced to Marquez’s work in a World Lit course in college. I was in graduate work for School Health, we had to take 10 credits outside of our field. I thank the wisdom of the UofO for such an opportunity to broaden my world view.
I finished it this week. It did not set my heart on fire. Paragraphs that run on and on for pages. I will give Garcia Marquez this: a tremendous vocabulary.
@Kathleen, I Read the Cave this year and enjoyed it much more than Solitude. A somewhat dystopian view of a futuristic South American country but the storyline and plot were so much more defined and realistic. (IMHO)
i think there is something wrong with me because i didn’t like it.
One of the worst things I’ve ever read. I’m with you.
Agree with you both.
I’ve started it twice. Just can’t seem to get into it.
Agree! I may give it another try sometime…..
Listen to it on Audio Books. The narration helps. I’ve read it once and listened to it once. Definitely takes work.
@Libby ok good idea! Thanks!
Loved it. A modern classic.
It is not an easy read…. and I found it hard to keep up with all the characters !!! I started liking it much better when I surrendered to the fact I couldn’t keep up with all the characters and gave up trying ! It’s a rich book in my opinion and worth the effort, tho’ I do like his other books better, e.g. Love in the Age of Cholera.
Love is one of my favorites.
It’s a big commitment, but one that’s totally worth it, IMO.
Loved it.
Sooo many characters. It’s worth more than one read.
Have started many times but can’t get into it.
I absolutely loved it but it isn’t an easy read. It is more about the feel & the imagery & less about the stories – although the stories of the lives do add up into something bigger. It is just GREAT writing that we do not see nowadays. I wish I would have read it with a book club or in a lit class, there is so much to it!
I really didn’t care for it, but not every book will connect with every person, classic or not. I would still like to read “Love in the Time of Cholera.”
One of the best books I’ve read.
My book has a family tree that was very handy to try to keep track of who is who. Use it if you have it in yours!
You beat me to it. My book didn’t have a fam tree so I found one online & used it as a bookmark so I could keep it near!
Came here to say the same thing! Great minds, and all that ?
It just sounds very lonely…sorry, ? couldn’t resist!
Yes & get a family tree printed out so you can keep track of the characters!!
??
Absolute genius.
Favorite book, I wish I could read in Spanish, I’m sure so many nuances get lost in translation. He inspired so many writers.
I read it in Spanish many years ago. It was beautiful. The English version is good but doesn’t hold the same place in my heart.
@Lacy I knew it! I could tell there was more depth to his style.
Loved it!
I know I’m in the minority, but I found it tedious. I finished it, but I didn’t care for it.
I also read & felt much the same way about his Love in the Time of Cholera.☹
I tried twice and I just couldn’t finish it.
I felt the same way. Long and overly complicated. It felt like one of those books that’s trying too hard to be deep
@Kerri exactly!!. I have read many complicated, long books but I just couldn’t get into this one.
I couldn’t finish it. @Kerri and I are in a book group together- I think we all agreed that it was a slog.
The first time I tried to get through it I gave up about 1/3 of the way in. I thought the problem must have been due to it being a translation. Years later I tried again after hearing that it was such a major classic. I think about 1/2 to 2/3 through I just gave up thinking “every book is not for every reader”
Maybe I’ll try it again someday ……
@Jo oh, maybe I needed to read Death in the….under the guidance of a professor! I kept looking and waiting for some message. Was glad to finish!
This is my favorite book of all time. I read it for the first time when I was sixteen and have read it about 13 times since. I picked up a copy in the original Spanish but haven’t quite gotten up the courage to attempt it yet.
I am reading it now. I love Marquez, but this book is taking me longer to read than other works I have read. There is a lot to absorb and keep track of, but the characters are intriguing and wonderful. I get through a few pages each night. I know it will draw me in at some point and I will fly through the rest of it. It has been a while since I took so long to read a book. The Man of La Mancha took me 5 years, but one of my favorite reads of all time.
I’m going to read it, too. But, it’ll probably take me 10 years! Good literature makes me a slow reader and 100 yrs is one of the best.
Love it, and I recommend after reading to consider listening to it, also. It’s a complex work. It’s a book you will find yourself thinking about. A lot. And also, I thinks it’s very common as you read it to go, ‘who the hell is this guy, now?’ I thought it was worth the work.
Worth it
A difficult read
One of my very very favorites!
One of my favorite books . top 5
I read it about 40 years ago and it spoke to my heart. I would like to read it again to see if it has changed. ?
Me, too!
It is slow at times, but an overall great book.
I read it in Spanish when I was in college. It was amazing. Been thinking about reading it in English
One of my favorite authors, and undoubtedly a master work, but not my favorite. I prefer his short stories.
It’s a literary masterpiece from the first paragraph to its last one. It’s intricate but a worth it
Second hardest book to get through for me, but so worth it.
Curious what the hardest book was?
@Kris “1Q84” Murakami
Started and stopped…gave it a real second chance…couldn’t get through it, gave up…
Oh great book loved it
Wonderful!
An absolute FAVORITE of mine! I’ve read it numerous times, even by different translators – which always adds a new dimension. It’s on my keepers list!
My absolute favorite. I revisit my original 20 year old copy every spring once school get’s out. So many hidden messages.
LOVE! Worth reading 100 times.
Loved it
And this is what makes life interesting, we all like or dislike different things. How dull would it be if we all liked only the same thing!
Ugh
Wow. I bought a copy of the book with a family tree in it. It sounds like a worthwhile challenge.
Stopped at page 80. Hated every character in it.
Ick
Have tried and given up a few times, need to try again I guess.
Loved it the third time I read it. (It finally clicked) the first two times I struggled with it.
It’s a hundred years long lol
I agree!
I thought that too!
It’s not his most readable work but I liked it. His Cholera is more popular.
I liked it but I definitely did not love it.
Love. Got a tattoo of the word “soledad” and named my son Gabriel because of it.
Love that!
It’s my only tattoo! I have four sons and one of them had to be a Gabriel. I wanted an Aureliano. My husband didn’t go for that. Still love marzipan and think of Úrsula every time I see edible marzipan figures for sale. It arrived in my life at the perfect time, when I was studying in Costa Rica and met said husband.
I wish the name Úrsula was more associated with this book than “The Little Mermaid.” I’m afraid the purple sea witch image ruins it for any daughters.
Wonderful
I HATED it. It’s the worst book I’ve ever read and when I look at the cover, it makes feel queasy! But I know some people love it and I hope you will!
What did you hate about it ?
@Valerie I got so confused with all the people of the same name, and the story droned on and on forever. At one point, a single sentence was over a page long. I didn’t understand a word on the page. Haha. I learned that magical realism is not my thing!
Wow, everyones opinion is so interesting!
Absolutely loved it..
Beautiful and strange
Loved!
I read it . Completely different style of writing. I found it hard to follow in some spots.
Great book!
Grueling at times but interesting. It’s like listening to a very long winded person tell a story, lots of tangents.
It was tough at first but I ended up liking it
Meh
A favorite.
One of my all time favorites ??enjoy!
I have tried it several times, just could not get into it.
One of my favorite books ever. Love In The Time of Cholera is excellent also but Marquez is not everyone’s cup of tea.
I read it in college. Did not like at all!
My absolute favorite book. In many ways, it’s the story of Latin America told through the town of Macondo.
Love it…one of my favorite books and I will probably re-read it some time
One of the best books ever written. Long but worth it.
It was hard to get through, but I did, mainly because it was required reading. . . Good example of magical realism
Haunting. The imagery, if you can let it in, carries you.
One of the best books ever. Enjoy.
A masterpiece.
Liked!
Enjoy it, it is a fantastic book!
I typically finish every book I start. This was an exception. I did not like it at all and did not get far.
I grudgingly finished it but only because it was for book club. Did not like it at all. Felt like 100 years of torture.
Beautiful book♥️ I think about it all of the time♥️
Loved it! But it’s one that you have to take some time to read, the language is beautiful. Love in the Time of cholera is even better.
I would also recommend another Latin American Nobel laureates, Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Storyteller as an example of fantastical realism. Actually I loved be many of his books.
Loved it….suspend reality. Love Marquiz
I did not care for it.
I didn’t like it either…
just bought it. it is in my stack. i have higj expectations
I loved it totally. Many people I know didn’t like it
What a great first sentence!
I just started to read it. So far it a good.
Read it a long time ago.Will want to read it again.
I read this many, many years ago, but many of the images have stayed with me.
I love this book so much I made Sims based on the Buendia family
I read half of it on vacation one year but never finished it after vacation. I’ve been meaning to ever since. I had a hard time with the beliefs of the characters but my Mexican American co-worker at the told me “oh no, that’s exactly the way my Tia tells stories”. So I need to start from the beginning and not get hung up ?.
She is right; we weave folklore into storytelling.
I really had no idea until he told me that. Learn something new every day. ?
Loved it!
Loved it! Want to re-read it. I agree with previous comments about giving it time.
Least favorite of the 10 books I have read from the Great Read list this summer.
My favorite!
It’s a hard read in that you really have to pay attention but definitely worth it. He’s a great writer!
Couldn’t finish it. I tried for years and finally gave up. I think it’s the only novel I’ve ever not finished! ???♀️
Couldn’t finish it
So beautiful!!! A novel in poetry!!!
Didn’t like it much
I’d need a hundred years of solitude to get through it. Good luck..
Put it aside before finishing. Hope to start over sometime!
The only book I ever got 2/3 into… put back on the shelf and never picked back up.
You’ll love it!
Beautiful…one of my favorites.
It’s a challenge, for sure. I think I ultimately liked it, but I’m pretty sure I just enjoyed that I was able to get through it.
Couldn’t force myself through it.
It is incredible, brilliant, and fascinating.
Made me hate magical realism
I thought it was strange, but I liked it. I’d like to read it again.
Definitely requires a reread.
I read it in English and in Spanish and found that in Spanish I really didn’t want to put it down. I found the English translation just had something missing.
My college roommate said the same thing
Tanya Jackson there was something about the words in Spanish to describe things just made the story come alive.
One of my top 10 of all times and one of the few books that I reread every few years.
Wow – definitely a Love or Hate thing for this book..not much in between. Have been tempted to try it several times, but never have. Maybe it’s now or never!
@Kris That’s what I noticed. People love it or hate it, no in-between. I couldn’t stand it and left after about 50 pages.
My favorite book of all time since I read it for freshman English in high school
The majority of those on the list can’t hold a candle to this novel. My all time favorite.
@Janis right!
It is a toss up between this and Heart of Darkness, and Frankenstein.
The writing style is so much like Everything is Illuminated. Both beautiful.
Only got to page 30.
I love One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marquez Garcia’s words transported me, hypnotized me, and awed me in their beauty and power of its philosophy.
I agree with you about his writing. I remember when I was reading Of Love and Other Demons I sort of “came to” when the phone rang; I could see, feel, and smell the port city he was writing about. I’d never experienced anything like that before.
One of my very favorites….beautiful language, just exquisite.
Kristen J. Sears yes it is. The language is breathtaking. So often I found myself gasping for air, because the prose was stunning!
Loved it.
My favorite book of all time. I love the authors books and I see why he won awards for his writing. Yes, a difficult read and not for everyone, but SO worth it. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!??
Struggled through it and will never read again, but I could tell it was a work of art!
I finished it, but I didn’t love it – it never spoke to me.
Loved!
I am struggling with it.
Couldn’t get through it. I know I’m in the minority though.
I did not finish it either. I gave myself permission to give up on a book if I can’t get into it. No regerts!
I didn’t finish it either.
I plowed through searching for why people thought it was so wonderful. I never found it. Sometimes it isn’t the book but what the reader brings into it.
Have read this wonderful novel two times and loved it. You might need to get used to a little magic realism, but I hope that you persevere.
Try “Like Water for Chocolate “. It’s a more entertaining example of magical realism
Amazing
Absolutely loved it!
nope nope nope. glorified rape and incest under the guise of ‘magical realism’. read some neil gaiman instead.
I don’t remember that…but I like Neil Gaiman, too. His “Neverwhere” is good.
@Kristina I do not think either of those were glorified. At the end, it said that was the price they paid for a family tradition of solitude.
Loved so much that every time I buy a copy I give it away. It’s a must read and must share!
Boo hiss.
Can be read as an Eden Apocalypse story, as a Fairy Tale, as a war story, as a Family Saga, etc., etc., etc…..but the reader must willingly suspend disbelief!!!
Not a fav of mine. In fact, it was one of the few books I gave up on.
me, too….
Ok
Had to quit it.
You are no longer my mother. I disown you.
Sorry☹️
Surrealistic but I enjoyed the story.
I was not a fan of the genre, but there are some absolutely beautiful writing moments in there!
In my top 10
I struggled to get through it. I liked his “Of Love and Other Demons” much better.
Yikes! That’s a tough read! I struggled to get through all the characters and plots
It took starting it 3 times to get into it, after which it became my favorite book of all time.
I love this book!
One of my favorites!
Totally worth it. It is gorgeous, but don’t take long pauses.
One of my absolute favorites!
Very entertaining but often struggled to keep characters straight! ?
❤️…loved it.
Lost my taste for fiction. Nowadays I stick to non-fiction.
Loved it! And Love in the time of Cholera. One of my favorites.
I didn’t like it at all. Slogged through it because it was recommended by a friend but not to my taste at all.
Loved it
Did not like this at all, yes, grueling to read.
Really one of the best books ive read. He has some great books for different genres. Hope you enjoy it
Really could not get it no matter how hard I tried. And, I did try.
One of the best South American writers! An amazing book.
IT was not not my cup of tea.
Enjoy.
I love magical realism. I suggest getting the notes to follow the genealogy. Many generations of Jose and Maria. ?
Not my favorite, but finished it! LOL
Could not get through it.
Nope.
I had to read it in college. Absolutely hated it, however the last 25 pages made it all worth while. Good luck with it.
Kind of like Alice… it got “curiouser and curiouser”. 😉
Currently reading it. I’m on page183. It’s holding my interest but, so far, Love in the Time of Cholera is my Garcia Marquez choice.
Enjoy ?
Tried, tried and tried again….yea…..no
Ugh
I read it because my daughter really liked it. It took me a while to read it. Not my favorite
oh yes. yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Good luck!
Too weird
It was like walking in a bog wearing a pair of doc martens..no thanks!!!!
Great visual!
I loved it!
Tough going.
I could not get into it. I really tried.
My friiend raved about it and lent me her copy. Just not one of my favorite books…
Good luck!
Nop. Go for Isabel Allende’s books. GGM books are too sordid for my personal taste. But again, is my personal taste. (Sorry literature purists.)
I didn’t love it, but Love in the Time of Cholera is a must read.
@Betsy good one!
So so good! It’s time for a reread for me!
I read it in Spanish, don’t know what the translation is like, but the book was a whirlwind. If you try to keep track of everything you stumble over the minutiae, even from the first phrase. If you have a name chart, I would pretty much ignore it unless I was hopelessly lost. Just go with it. I had to read the last part over because it seemed to fly past me.
Absolutely! Just let it wash over you.Experience it!
My husband loved it!
I really enjoyed it! I’ve read it 3 times and will read it again because I get something new from it each time.
I found it so boring.
I loved it!!
not for me
Could not get thru it
????
Not my favorite book!
I loved it!
I couldn’t
Loved it!
Love! Love! Love!
good political views from the Southern Hemisphere.
Iconic and important read. I absolutely loved it.
Loved it.
i couldn’t get through it.
Couldn’t get through it. But loved his other books
It’s a bit rough to get through but totally worth it.
LOVED IT!! Seriously, one of my favorite books…stick with it, it is worth it.
Awesome
LOVE LOVE LOVE! It is my favorite by Marquez.
One of my faves. I read it every few years.
Loved it! Though it does have that magical realism quality that not every reader likes.
Good luck.
Love it!!
Long, drawn out….I gave up. Same with Cholera.
If one more person had been named Aureliano I would have screamed!! ?
Lots of Buendias…
Couldn’t follow it. Too many similar names to keep up with.
Keep reading ? After all is One Hundred Years of Solitude! ☺️
When you finish reading, enjoy – Macondo by Oscar Chávez
https://youtu.be/mBfP4_c2rw8
Strange book
Read Octavio Paz’ “The Labyrinth of Solitude” instead.
An all time favorite!
I’m reading it for the third time in thirty years! This time in Italian! One of my all time favorites…a keeper!
Just started it too. Taking on beach vaca
Exceptional book. A classic that transcends time, I think.
Made myself finish this one ?
Have started it twice and put it down both times. I hear great things about it, but have apparently not been in the proper mood for it.
It’s a great book but you have to be in the right mood to get through it…like War and Peace.
Take your time with it
https://youtu.be/B2zhLYz4pYo
If it is your first experience with magical realism it might be a bit much! There are other wonderful books in that genre that might be an easier entry?
Agree with many of the opinions, especially “take your time…” Love this book, one of my favorites love Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Please let us know what you thought.
The fact that this book is generating so many comments is an indication of its literary importance.
One of my favs!
That book was weird…. not my favorite.
very good book
i was never able to finish it. I think i stopped after about 20 pages… It never happens to me. I always try to read until the end but i just couldn’t with this one. May be i should try again… Some people say that with books there is a good timing…
This was my experience with this book. Not sure if I can try it again.
My husband loves it, so I read it … I don’t love it.
I finished it but I did not enjoy it.
One Hundred years of confusion ?
Hated it
Obviously well, well written….I thought it moved a little slow for my taste; having said that, still worth reading just for the writing
I liked it. Did not love or hate it.
It took me a while (and turning to the family tree in the front to tell the characters apart at first) to get into it, but it has since become one of my favorite books and Marquez one of my favorite authors.
To understand Magical Realism more, I would recommend reading The Night Face Up by J. Cortazár. There is a public PDF on google.
It’s a short read of three or so page. I also recommend Jose Luis Borges to start out. If you’ve just started reading these types of works, you may find 100 years of solitude a bit complicated
It definitely is different. But it is one that enthralls as all the vines weave together.
i loved IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA even more
After reading it, I read House of Spirits by Isabel Allende and loved that even more.
Wloved it!
Same here
Loved it.
Hated it. That was the only book I ever read that had a paragraph 5 pages long. Bored me to tears!
No you must be thinking of Saramago…no punctuation for 5 pages too.
For so long he has been one of my favorite authors…difficult to follow initially…well worth it to me…I own all his books in hardcover.
Loved it
I didn’t get it.
So powerful.
I have it, but haven’t tried it yet.
I LOVED IT. At first I thought it was too much for me but then I went on Goodreads and read a few reviews. I followed the suggestion to copy the family chart and use it as I read. So glad I did. It did take a little effort for me. Now one of my favorite books.
Loved it! I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez!!!
Lots of fun! I have to admit that I put it down for a few months because I was overwhelmed by the amount of characters, etc.,but it is one of my favorite books.
Loved it
One of the most memorable books ever. Marquez is a master.
A difficult start for me. I had to get used to keeping my finger on the page with the family tree, but turned out to be my all time favorite! And GGM became my favorite author.
I tried it decades ago and DNFed it. Too strange for me back then. Maybe now. Maybe on audio.
Having read this book 25 or so years ago, TodayI now understand so much more of the story. Age definitely gives one perspective.
Maybe it’s time.
Me too! Span Lit in college.
I didn’t really like the book and yet, I read the whole thing. I thought it was confusing having so many people named the same. And things that are solid and things that are ephemeral in the same story.
@Lou very confusing
Loved his other writing, but this was so depressing, it took me weeks to get over it. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless very tough inside.
ADORE! I was sobbing like an infant at the end, but it was because I was so happy and sad and overwhelmed at its beauty at the same time. ?
I love magical realism but this one was a challenge.
Couldn’t read it
Incredible.
Loved it!
One of my favorites. Magical realism can make it tough but try to stick it out. It’s wonderful ❤
Slow
Excellent!
Did not care for it at all but I did finish it I still make a face when I see it on my bookshelf
Great book. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Loved it. Passionate and magical and fierce. Read it at 22. Perfect for that age.
Just started rereading it. Love it.
I don’t like magical realism.
Me either. It just doesn’t “compute” in my brain.
Didn’t like it.
couldn’t get into it, but that was years ago, might try again
I abandoned it.
I read it in high school. It was good, but as a high school student doing her homework, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I could have. Some day I’ll read it again. Right now, I’m actually reading Love in the Time of the Cholera, also by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and I’m really enjoying it. I do read him in Spanish, though, which helps. I find that translations don’t always do good literature justice.
I just found it in English (Love in the time of Cholera) at my local goodwill. I’ll let you know on the translation ?
I did not finish it. Started it many times.
I experienced that with Trinity. Finally purchased it on Audible when it became available.
Not a fan
I didn’t finish it.
Read it, didn’t like it.
Well good luck because I never could finish it. I finally gave it away.
Couldn’t finish it!
Started it years ago .. couldn’t get into it .. made no sense. Told my reader friend…she tried and agreed ?
Didn’t get it at all
I loved it – one of my all time favorites. I didn’t figure out what the title meant till the end, and then I loved it more.
Second going was harder – first time around I was wowed, entranced, not only because this book was a first or damned close. I had never ever seen magical realism before and I could not put it down. Now that many, many authors have copied the genre the reactions are diluted … kind of like seeing nudity on TV or in the movies
Good luck You are a better/ bigger person than I
I agree!
“You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din…”
One of my favorite books ever – have read in both Spanish and English and have to say the translation into English is miraculously good.
It’s epic.
Memorable, just go with it …
One of the very few books I simply could not get through. I tried a few times and finally gave up. I do hope you enjoy it, though. For the people who do, it seems to be a beloved book.
Loved it, but yeah.
An intriguing postmodern text. I love it.
My father gave me this book long time ago.
Love in the Time of Cholera is one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever read. I was expecting the same from One Hundred Years of Solitude, but found it so depressing, I couldn’t finish, although I tried several times. It actually affected me emotionally for months and I finally gave up.
Love love love them both!
♥️?♥️♥️?♥️
One of my absolute favorites!
One of my favorites- a joy to read. The names through the generations repeat so that can be confusing. If you dig deeper into South American history, you will find actual events hat the book alludes to and I don’t think some readers realize this.
I have a love/hate relationship with Marquez. I’m disturbed by the “old man / nubile young girl” relationships in his books. On the other hand I love his use of language and imagery. This one was a definite miss for me. Still, one of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book
“The world must be all f***ked up,” he said then, “when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.”
Marquez’s use of language and imagery…is what enraptured me.
Nope. Not a fan
I made it through 75 years.
It’s on my to read list. I just bought it a week ago.
It’s a strange book.
shogun
Don’t let the mystical realism get you down.
Speaking of magical realism…I really enjoyed “Imaging Argentina”
Loved it! I felt like it was a series of stories about the different characters.
I couldn’t read it. Mystical realism is not for me! I did read Love in the time of Cholera, but didn’t like it either!
I just finished listening to this. It definitely held my interest, but I don’t think I would recommend it to others. I will say that this book has HBO or Showtime series written all over it.
Just finished it & still thinking about it
I didn’t like it. ?
Voting mostly for this piece of art. Probably the best book I’ve ever read. I was introduced to Marquez’s work in a World Lit course in college. I was in graduate work for School Health, we had to take 10 credits outside of our field. I thank the wisdom of the UofO for such an opportunity to broaden my world view.
On my list!
I finished it this week. It did not set my heart on fire. Paragraphs that run on and on for pages. I will give Garcia Marquez this: a tremendous vocabulary.
Speaking of paragraphs that run on for pages…have you read Saramago? Good luck finding a period.
@Kathleen, I Read the Cave this year and enjoyed it much more than Solitude. A somewhat dystopian view of a futuristic South American country but the storyline and plot were so much more defined and realistic. (IMHO)
A masterpiece.
I would like to reread this one…