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Tuesday, June 19. 2007

One Hundred Years of Solitude turns 40

One Hundred Years of Solitude turns 40 as Gabriel Garcia Marquez turns 80.

From an essay on the novel, by Ilan Stavans at The Chronicle Review:

In my 40s, I've returned to García Márquez's masterpiece. Now it seems to me that, like Cervantes's Don Quixote, it decodes the DNA of Hispanic civilization. It's a "total" novel, designed by a demiurge capable of creating a universe as comprehensive as ours.

Posted by Bird Dog in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 05:19 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review...

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race."
That endorsement alone would elevate any book to the top of the reading list but just add the sprinkles on top of the parfait and you find it has also made Oprah's Book of the Month Club.

As with any work it has it's lovers and haters. We've seen a very powerful love side. Likening it to the first Book of the Bible and Oprahs Book of the Month club endorsement, not to mention BD's ecomium is supremely high praise.


Now the Dark Side by a reviewer by the name of Anteros el Gordo. Ok, I added the el Gordo....my motives are pure I only want to taint Anteros review.

"It started out ok, when I thought it was going to be a normal story. Even the magical elements added to it did not disturb me. The gypsies with their fabulous inventions. I actually found them charming.

Then the war started and along with it came all the insanity. The Incest, the Pedophilia, the Bestiality, the brothers who shared a woman, the little girl forced to have sex with sixty men a night for profit, the characters with no humanity, no brains and no common sense... and I'm talking about the major characters of the story. Halfway through the book I no longer cared about anyone in the story and I desperately wanted one woman in particular to die so I wouldn't have to read about her anymore.

If I sound angry it's because I am. Genesis?!? Are you kidding me?!? This was precious hours of my life wasted on putrid drivel intended for no useful purpose whatsoever. It doesn't educate. It doesn't enlighten. It doesn't excite. It doesn't sadden. It doesn't give joy. It just makes you wonder when it's all going to end so you can get on with your life. I'm angry at the fools who have elevated this pile of trash to high status and foisted it upon the unsuspecting masses as "literature."

It should be noted that Anteros gave "One Hundred Years of Solitude" a one star rating out of a possible five.
He, on the other hand, gave L.Ron Hubbard's,"Battlefield Earth" a five star rating....

I'm go'in with BD and Oprah on this one.
#1 Habu, reader of Road and Track on 2007-06-19 09:05 (Reply)
You remember the book better than I do. I thought it was more like a dream/nightmare, without a lot of solid character development.
#2 BD on 2007-06-19 09:53 (Reply)
I haven't read it, but I did appreciate the word "Fabulist", which seems to've been coined, or mainstreamed, as the name of a "school" of writing of which the author is a leading light.
#3 buddy larsen on 2007-06-19 14:26 (Reply)

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