Hi friends and happy Wednesday! I hope you’re all doing well. I’m back again today with yet another classic read! Today I’m posting my reading update thoughts on Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.

One of the most influential literary works of our time, One Hundred Years of Solitude remains a dazzling and original achievement by the masterful Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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 Buendiá 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.

Goodreads synopsis

My first thoughts on this book, as I’m not very far, four chapters or so, and I’m confused. I’m not really sure what the plot is just yet; from what I’ve gathered so far they are a family of inventors? I could be totally wrong (and no I haven’t read the synopsis). Also, there are SO many characters… and they all have very similar names so I’m constantly trying to remember who is who. I’m not hating it despite being lost because the writing is good and the characters are interesting. Very curious how this continues to play out.

I have to say, I’m still confused by this book but I’m also not hating it. What I’ve come to learn is that over time we see how this family deals with solitude in different ways, which has actually been really interesting. I wish they all didn’t have names that were similar because it makes the reading experience so much harder. I’m very thankful there is a family tree in the front of this book because I think I consult it every chapter I read to make sure I’m getting the characters correct. This has also been somewhat leisurely to read because there are no high stakes, we’re just reading about this somber family. I genuinely am curious how this ends though.

A short update this week since I haven’t had a lot of time to read; we’re getting more action than we have the entire book. Dialogue is happening, we’ve got war and house raids, people fearing for their life. The first part of this book was told in a more past tense kinda way, but we’re moving into slightly more present tense, which has given this book life. Speaking of life, Úrsula has been a live for a hundred years, seeing her family pass her by, talk about lonely solitude. She still has grandkids and great-great grandkids, but still after a while I guess you would feel removed from them.

This was definitely not a book I would have picked up if it hadn’t been for this project I’ve started. This was such a strange book because so many random things happened in the 100 year span this story takes place. There was never a clear cut way or direction to this, I never knew what to expect, which at times could be exciting, but most of the time was just confusing (didn’t help with the whole same/similar name thing). This book is said to be the rise and fall of the town of Macondo, and it truly felt like that, especially with the way this ended; it felt sad, but also showed the meaning of life in the ebbs and flows the of everyday (when fantasy-like things weren’t happening to them… although that was quite often). The concept for this was interesting, but it bored me in places. I still really enjoyed the writing, but this book wasn’t my cup of tea.

 Have you read One Hundred Years of Solitude? Let me know in the comments!