One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 55 reviews)

I Can't Stop Thinking About It

I had to read this book for my English class. I didn't know anything about it other than it's legendary status. As I read it, I enjoyed it. It took me time to get through it and for me, it was not the kind of book I could sit down and read a page or two during commercials of the TV show I was watching. But more than I enjoyed it while reading, I enjoyed it even more afterwards, as strange as it sounds.

Since finishing the book over a month ago, I am constantly thinking about it and being reminded of it by daily life, which to me is the mark of a truly impressive novel. I really can't wait to go back and reread it, something I don't normally do, especially with books of this length.

Garcia Marquez's writing style was something new for me, and I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's a great book to read for school because there is huge literary value. And even more than that it's a story that everyone can relate to in some ways. Maybe the thing about Garcia Marquez'z writing is that he doesn't come right out say everything, leaving a good portion of the meaning up to the reader's own interpretation. Sometimes I feel like authors try to do this to make their books seem deep, which just makes the book seem pretentious, but I did not feel that way at all from this book. I think every person who reads it will have a different interpretation of the subtleties. And I think your interpretation will change over time, which is why I'm excited to reread this in another 10 years and see what's changed.

Bottom line: Very cool book and worth reading. Don't be intimidated by it's length and while some parts are slow, everything is integral. It's a beautiful piece of work that can only be fully appreciated if read cover to cover.
December 14, 2008

Hater of Magic

I knew I would hate the book. I can't stand magic, fantasy books or huge sprawling books. The short elegant novel is for me. But I thought I'd just try a few pages. A day later, my work copletely ignored, I emerged exhausted but exilerated. Yet, this is one of the greatest books I've ever read and I have reread it now several times, always amazed at the power and beauty of the writing.
November 17, 2008

No Attachment to Characters

This story reads like a Spanish soap opera. Lots of things happen: affairs, revolutions, secrets, magic. But at the end, do you really care? Nope. I couldn't identify with a single character, as they were all one-dimensional and neurotic. My friend's mom said this book is supposed to say something about the history and politics of the region it's based in. If that's true, then that area of the world must be very sad indeed. How do books like this get held up as great examples of fiction?
November 14, 2008

Moving in small doses

From what I've heard, this book is far more powerful in the original Spanish, and I can only lament that I don't speak Spanish. I felt that long stretches of the book, such as Colonel Buendia's various revolutions and the chapters dealing with the banana plantation, were great. The elements of magical realism were as touching as they were astonishing. But I never grew unaccustomed to the book's pace, which moves herky-jerky through the decades, sometimes focusing on a single event for pages, then leaping several weeks in a single sentence. In the end, I felt like I hadn't gotten to know a single character. All the people in the book mystified me. Their fears, hopes, and regrets, were lost on me.
November 09, 2008

Garcia Marquez is great!

Gabriel Garcia Marquez has written many novels over the years, but I have had the privilege to read only two. This book is written in the style of magical realism, so you have to be very open minded about the creative and surrealistic characters. It's a wonderful, classic book from a great Latin American author.
October 12, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Love in the Time of Cholera (Vintage International)
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel
by Milan Kundera

Collected Stories
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Chronicle of a Death Foretold
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Memories of My Melancholy Whores
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
by Edith Grossman