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Nov 21, 2019wyenotgo rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Here we have on one hand the fatalism that Latin America inherited from Catholic Spain and on the other hand sheer whimsy — magical realism taken to extremes. But in the end it becomes a great tragedy: an almost enchanted society, happy and benign in its isolation and its never-ending civil wars, but then destroyed by the arrival of 20th century technology and the brutal impact of the corporate world. Many readers will share my frustration with Marquez’ bizarre conceit of assigning every succeeding male member of this strange household through four generations with one of two names. It’s as if Marquez was determined to ensure that no one would attempt to actually make sense of this tale — applying a subterfuge that was likely to sow confusion. Indeed, it seems that the personalities of the males also tend to follow a repeating pattern, being variations on either adventurers or seekers of solitude. It’s actually the women who each display unique personalities and each in her way is a disruptive force. Each one of them deserves a chapter of her own: the matriarch Ursula, the mysterious Rebecca who eats dirt and whitewash, the austere, implacable Amaranta, Remedios the Beauty, the lusty and resourceful Pilar Ternera. But in the end, fate takes charge and after a hundred years, with the arrival of the fruit merchants the precious solitude of the Buendia clan is banished forever. I found myself recalling "Lost Horizon" or perhaps more aptly Lampedusa's "The Leopard" for parallels. This was certainly no paradise but on the other hand, everything that made it special and worth preserving was lost. The problems with this book are obvious but to a great extent it is saved by the sheer exuberance of its prose, the author’s delight in the magical kingdom he has created; and the outrageously romantic personalities of his many protagonists and their mad exploits. Even death cannot entirely extinguish them and they remain with us to the end. Truly a unique reading experience.