ID #51714 | ημερομηνία: 2021-05-01
pagesofnectar | 119 κριτικές
Márquez's Masterpiece
Okay, is this book weird? Yes, it's hella weird. First of all it really is confusing, we're following five generations, dozens of characters and everyone keeps either marrying someone or dying, all that while all the characters have the same two names, so do make notes!
But when I say weird, I mean really weird in terms of how weird the relationships the characters form are. We have like three cases of paedophilia, a bunch of incest and a whole lotta love-making, like a lot of it. So yeah, there's quite the focus on sexual relationships in random parts all over the book so please be very aware of that going in the book. Not to mention the, peculiar at best, phrases about penises - dude, this felt like my classic archaeology class where we had to comment on the erection of Satyrs depected on pottery, all over again!
So that is the way in which I found the book weird and the kind of parts that troubled me, since I definitely didn't mind the magical realism kind of weird at all! If anything I absolutely devoured it and it made want to read more of the genre immediately. The whimsical, dreamy sensation is one I tend to adore in books so I absolutely loved it here! All the little magical, unexplainable things warmed me and made my heart so happy!
The fluidity of time, the repetition of themes and events from one generation to the other, the weight of memory, history repeating itself, all through Màrquez's writing that makes its way to your heart!
Also, I absolutely loved how detailed the characters were and how much we got to learn about them. I feel like they perfectly represented the mindset of traditional small communities. Plus, I loved to see the way evolution kept catching up with the little town, starting from the early 18th and reaching the 19th century. Stuff like the progress of technology, new political and social structures, slowly made their way into the traditional little community making its life more complex and corrupting its essence!
I also really appreciated the connection to the historical context, since a lot of the events reference actual events that took place in Márquez's country, Columbia, like civil wars, the suppression of the workers and their strikes by the army. Even Màrquez references himself in his book as a minor character.
I don't even need to talk about Márquez's writing, which is absolutely incredible and gorgeous, so detailed and masterful, one of the best I've ever read!
So, in a nutshell, I really liked what I got from this story and will definitely re-read it with much excitement soon!