One Hundred Years of Solitude (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

The basic story is of a fictional town in South America (Macondo) and one central family - The Buendia's. Marquez writes of many things mundane and ordinary in the lives of this family, yet interspersed with the normal is the strange. Within the first few chapters the reader's imagination is fuelled by images of flying carpets, a man who turns into a snake, Arabs who will only trade their goods for Macaws and an insomnia plague which eventually makes the populace lose their memories until it is cured by a gypsy's brew. As the novel progresses it is easy to lose track of some events due to the way they follow each other in a cyclical pattern - the same can be said for the names of the characters, but I think this is intentional once you realise what the themes of the book are. The political aspect of the novel is also quite remarkable, Marquez manages to sum up the Liberal-Conservative struggle superbly, adding to the notion that this could be set anywhere in South America as it mirrors conflicts there in the last two centuries.

Despite the writing style and the ambiguity of the events/characters I would recommend this novel to almost anyone as something they must read, purely through the sheer escapism it provides. There are much more telling themes behind the book though, obviously solitude is one of them but I think time is also something else Marquez intended readers to think about. What he is saying is that no matter how ugly, beautiful, wealthy, stupid or intelligent a person is they can not escape the ravages of time - we come into this world alone and we will leave it alone. He has taken the one ultimate truth of life, flowered things up a bit and told us that death is inescapable. This is backed up by the depressing thought that no matter how hard you try you will start to forget names and events even as you are reading it, as if the Author is showing us that it doesn't really matter what sequence these events occur in.

Still, as sobering a thought as this is, you should not miss out on reading about the doomed yet wondrous Buendia family, it contains some of the most imaginative characters ever invented and you won't be able to help being sucked into their magical world, created by a man with more talent for writing than most can only dream of.

Macondo is a mythical South American town, founded, almost by accident, by Jose Arcadio Buendi­a, and populated primarily by his descendants. This is the story of one hundred years in the life of Macondo and its inhabitants - the story of the town's birth, development and death. Civil war and natural calamities plague this vital place whose populace fights to renew itself and survive. This is a huge narrative fiction that explores the history of a people caught up in the history of a place. And Marquez captures the range of human emotions and the reasons for experiencing them in this generational tale.

There is much that is delightful and comical here. Surprises never cease, whether it be Remedios ascending, or a man whose presence is announced by clouds of butterflies. There is satire, sexuality and bawdiness galore. But there is also a pervading sense of sadness and futility. Cruelty is a reality in Marquez' world, as are failure, despair and sudden, senseless violence. The plot is filled with passion, poetry, romance, tragedy and the echoes of the history of Colombia and Latin America.

I first read "One Hundred Years Of Solitude" in 1968, while living in Latin America. I have read it 2 or 3 times over the years, always picking up new pieces of wonder that I had previously missed. This is my favorite novel, and I am an avid reader. My favorite fictional character is Melquiades, the gypsy who foretells the future of the township and whose ghost accompanies the reader until there is no more to read. Having read this in Spanish and English, I must laud Gregory Rabassa's extraordinary translation which faithfully brings to life not only Marquez' story, but his lyrical prose. This is one of the 20th Century's best works of fiction. It is a masterpiece not to be missed.
JANA