Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique Family HistoricalTapestry, 1 Mar 2005
My decision to read this book was based on its "Nobel Prize" winning status and a desire to expand my knowledge of world literature. I was not disappointed. The fluid writing style of the author seems a bit tricky at first, but as the story unfolds, one recognizes a natural cadence and rhythm which is like the flow of a river through time. Perhaps, the translation from Spanish into English omits some of the cultural milieu, however, the more one reads the more admiration one has for the writing skill and creativity of the author. This story is a fascinating account of the Buendia family who helped found the town of Macondo, somewhere out in the jungle of South America. This family dynasty includes the founding patriarch Jose Arcadio Buendia and thematriarch, Ursula, as well as more modern adventurers, revolutionaries, rebels, and eccentrics both male and female, who express their physical and spiritual natures as they build complex lives and produce the future generations. The family rises to a position of prominence in the region, each generation is tied to the previous one through legends and stories, making the ancestors seem mythical and magical. The extraordinairy cast of characters also includes vagabond gypies who come from the other side of the ocean, describing another world, even Macedonia is mentioned. They bear gifts, such as magnets, and one charismatic figure, Melquiades, carries with him experimental chemicals and alchemy books. He gives demonstrations of his talents. He captures the imagination of Jose Arcadio Buendia, the family patriarch who becomes an amature scientist. In an unusual creative twist, the book of secrets also becomes a book of knowledge, a book foretelling the future. In a symbolic manner it provides cohesion to the book. At the end, reading about the author's life, one learns how he was influenced by his grandmother who was a master storyteller. She wove fact, fiction and superstition into a magical mythical realm that felt very real to the author when he was a child. This story telling spirit became the impetus, the driving force to write this historical family chronicle. It is filled with love, humor, sadness, rebellion, naivite, adventure, glory, revolution, entrepenurial success, implusive acts with unexpected consequences and the magnetic appeal of bigger than life characters, both men and women. There is a free verse poetic flow to the writing which is totally captivating and infectious. Most highly recommended reading. Erika Borsos (bakonyvilla)
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10 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting if not a bit strange, 19 Jun 2004
If I had had to rate this book the first time I read it I would have given it no stars at all. Mainly because I did not have a clue what it was about. But the addition of years to my fevered brain allowed me to approach this book again and look at it with new eyes. It is a fantastic as in unbelievable story with elements of reality sewn in. On a second reading I was able to grasp more readily what was going on and therefore was able to get so much more out of it. I would recommend this book to people looking for a challenge rather than those who read for entertainment. It can be hard going at times but I quite enjoyed it in the end.
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