First published in 1967, Gabriel Garcia Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude stands as not only its author's masterpiece, but also as one of the great works of modern literature. Indeed, its artful unfolding of seven generations of a family in a small Columbian town elevates magical realism to the level of epic. This gorgeous leatherbound edition presents this modern classic in the elegant setting that it so justly deserves.
When his grandfather died, García Márquez was sent to Sucre to live (for the first time) with his parents. He attended university in Bogotá, where he studied law in accordance with his parents' wishes. It was here that he first read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and discovered a literature he understood intuitively -- one with nontraditional plots and structures, just like the stories he had known all his life. His studies were interrupted when the university was closed, and he moved back north, intending to pursue both writing and law; but before long, he quit school to pursue a career in journalism.
In 1954 his newspaper sent García Márquez on assignment to Italy, marking the start of a lifelong self-imposed exile from the horrors of Colombian politics that took him to Barcelona, Paris, New York, and Mexico. Influenced by American novelist William Faulkner, creator of the fictionalized Yoknapatawpha County, and by the powerful intergenerational tragedies of the Greek dramatist Sophocles, García Márquez began writing fiction, honing a signature blend of fantasy and reality that culminated in the 1967 masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude. This sweeping epic became an instant classic and set the stage for more bestselling novels, including Love in the Time of Cholera, Love and Other Demons, and Memories of My Melancholy Whores. In addition, he has completed the first volume of a shelf-bending memoir, and his journalism and nonfiction essays have been collected into several anthologies.In 1982, García Márquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his acceptance speech, he called for a "sweeping utopia of life, where no one will be able to decide for others how they die, where love will prove true and happiness be possible, and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude will have, at last and forever, a second opportunity on earth." Few writers have pursued that utopia with more passion and vigor than this towering 20th-century novelist.
García Márquez' first two novellas were completed long before their actual release dates, but might not have been published if it weren't for his friends, who found the manuscripts in a desk drawer and a suitcase, and sent them in for publication.
BirdieOH
Posted Thu Aug 11 00:00:00 EDT 2011
Barns & Noble should be ashamed of this one. I have bought several in this series. I was looking forward to this because I love this story. It is a cheap vinyl. No embossing or debossing like the rest of the series. The ink was even streaked on the printing of the cover. The in paper on the inside of the book was very cheap. It reminds me of a card stock. Even the gold was edge was cheaply done. Bad! Bad! Bad!!!
5 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2012
In the stunning novel 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Marquez is able to capture what life was like for the Buendia family in the 16th and 17th century. In the novel, Marquez covers seven generations of the family and how each one lived and worked together in the village of Macondo, which is supposed to represent Columbia. The story begins with Jose Arcadio Buendia and his dream; a dream that is the city of Macondo, a city of mirrors that reflects the world. He builds this town and his wife and his son come with him as he builds his utopic city. The village expands greatly and soon white settlers are coming in and taking over certain parts of the land. Buendia’s second son, Aureliano Buendia was the first person to be born in Macondo, and was very unusual. He was a warrior and preferred to be addressed in his later years as Colonel Aureliano Buendia. The third generation consists of Arcadio, Jose Arcadio’s (Buendia’s first son) son. Aureliano has seventeen sons, all by unknown women and which die in mysterious ways. The other four generations aren’t focused on much until later in the novel. The main part of the novel focuses on the second and the third generations. The reoccurring theme that is highlighted in this novel are ghosts. Several characters are visited by ghosts and they represent the symbols of the past. Marquez also uses colors as symbols. He does this with flowers and with the sky and with the different color garments that the characters wear throughout the novel. The two colors that are most frequently used are yellow and gold. Yellow is supposed to signal that death and destruction will soon arise, while gold shows the economic wealth growing. It’s these very small things that eventually play a big part in this novel. Also incorporated into this book is the whole background of Columbia. Upon first reading this novel, I didn’t understand some of the characters. But after a closer examination, I saw how some of the characters were certain parts of Columbia and how they changed showed how the country was developing. The novel itself is the story of how Latin America was discovered by European explorers and how the people and the country adjust to the constantly changing conditions. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would suggest it to someone with a vast vocabulary, as some words in this book are above an average reading level. The characters in this book are very dynamic and it’s interesting and intriguing to see them grow and have families of their own. Their story seems to be constantly expanding, which makes it entertaining to read. However, everything is very symbolic, so people that won’t understand al of the references may be confused of how certain things work and why some things play out the ways that they do. I would recommend that people read the book multiple times and also look into the history of Columbia to get a true understanding of what Marquez was trying to capture. Although this may seem a bit extensive, it makes the book easier to understand. If someone were to read this just for fun, they would probably think that it was boring and hard to understand. If someone were to read this intellectually and with the intention of expanding their learning, they would truly enjoy the novel.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Aug 11 00:00:00 EDT 2011
loved it!!! have read it more than once!!!
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