Surrender All Sense of Reality and Enjoy the Magic

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A lot of people have told me that this book is not their favorite. Actually, to be more precise, they have said, "It was impossible to get through."

Well my friends, one reason why some people may find One Hundred Years of Solitude hard to read is because they are applying the same reading methods that they would any other novel, and this novel in particular is like no other; you will need a whole new set of reading techniques.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is not a typical book about boy means girl, nor is it a stereotypical Latin American novel about dictators and oppressed women (although these themes do come up). Gabriel Garcia Marquez does something so magical in this book that the reader will sense an uncannily familiar feeling of deja vu over and over again throughout the novel.

This story isn't told in a fashion familiar to North Americans, that's for sure. It probably isn't familiar to most Latin Americans either. That is because GGM invents his own way of doing things and goes on to master said technique artfully, and this book is just one example from his canon that throws me every time I read it. He is a veritable genius! There is not one book or novella or snippet of his that I have read and have not loved. I mean, Chronicles of a Death Foretold goes down in history for me - he created a genre that only he can employ. Or, The Autumn of the Patriarch, yeah who needs punctuation anyway?

In any case, One Hundred Years of Solitude is confusing, that's for sure. It will make you're head spin and you will often find yourself flipping through past pages to be sure that what you are reading isn't something you have already read or that whatever part you are reading is in fact being read properly. These things can be annoying, but once you get past the fact that a book isn't only read for it's beautiful plot or what not, you might be able to see the beauty in a book that makes you're head hurt from thinking so much. Everything, every little thing, every word, every paragraph break, every punctuation mark is deliberate and thought out. Every little thing is part of a bigger thing. There is beauty in lyricism, and there is beauty in repetition. There is a certain 'je ne sais quoi' in the sadness that overwhelms this story, yet the triumph that underlies it. It's masterful and yet accessible all at the same time. Trust me.

One piece of advice: don't get lost in the nitty gritty. Don't try to figure out who is who and why they all have the same name. Don't try to figure out where they are or where they are going. Don't even try to figure out how the story got to where it is. Like an airline passenger, just sit back and relax and trust that the pilot will get you to your destination... there is nothing you can do that will make the story go any faster, GGM will get you there, and it will be one hell of a ride!