15.4.07

100 Years Of Solitude

by Nobel Prize winning Colombian writer, Gabriel Garcia MárquezAside from what you can read at Wikiwonderful:

  • All of the events of One Hundred Years of Solitude take place in the fictional village of Macondo but relate to historical events.
  • the color and overall status of the Buendía household embody the political and economical stance of Colombia at the time...
  • a picture from the late Remedios is kept in the house through all generations...its holiness worn off and disrespected in the modern world.
  • the troop of red ants that constantly battle the Buendías in their household may represent time: represent Communism (being characteristically red and forming part of a strictly structural society).
I really appreciated how the magical reality mixed with inventions and social change.
Mocando was a new and innocent town. Gypsies would come through with new inventions to would spark interest in some of the characters that would result it their reach for new understanding. Throughout the book the same thing would happen with politics, religion and industrialization. Like all efforts in this world and in our individual lives, with the good comes the bad.
The changes required the suspension of disbelief from all the character. This was necessary of them to allow the change in their society: The education, the political, the industrial, the social and inevitable destruction. I would then gather that the so-called progress didn't take due to the lack of change in the behavior of the characters. The same mistakes or traits can be seen repeating throughout the generations. However I would also conclude that the artificial changes imposed on Mocando/ Colombia were also a mistake.
I say all of this with the understanding that I know little about the struggles in Colombia. Also, I know that this is no book review but my simple observations.
Good recommendation C!

2 comments:

Colby said...

these visuals are astonishing. love your remedios. the top pic would make a great cover for the book!

Colby said...

and by remedios i mean meme, not the original remedios.