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desiree930 's review for:
One Hundred Years of Solitude
by Gabriel García Márquez
DID NOT FINISH
DNF Page 135.
Felt like page 335.
I normally don’t rate books I DNF, but I read a large chunk of this book. I skimmed the rest and since then I’ve read spoilery reviews and know that it’s just not going to be a story I will ever like. I am fully prepared to concede that this is a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. That being said, I do not get the hype.
The endless amounts of text on the page with almost no dialogue makes this a difficult narrative to get through. That being said, if the development of the characters had been...present...maybe I could’ve been okay with the structure. But there is so little attention paid to the many (MANY) characters that I honestly had trouble keeping them all straight. The women were there mostly as sexual objects for the men. The only one who was truly differentiated for me was Rebecca...because she ate dirt and sucked her thumb. Not exactly a stellar character.
The characters are written in such a detached way. There is almost no dialogue in this story, and what is there is essentially pointless. It doesn’t add anything to the narrative. It doesn’t provide any insight into the motivations of any specific character. I felt zero connection to any of them. For a book with so many characters...that’s not good.
There is also zero plot to this book, or if there is, it happens after page 135. Now, I’m not saying I need to have a plot-heavy, action-packed story. If the characters and the world are well-developed, I can forgive a mediocre or even non-existent plot. But as I said before, I found the characters lacking.
As far as the world-building, I wasn’t impressed. I enjoy magical realism. But I think my tastes run more toward the whimsical side of the genre. I didn’t get that at all in this story. Yes there were magical aspects to these characters and their surroundings, but I didn’t feel engaged at all while reading this story. The only part that mildly intrigued me was when the town came down with insomnia sickness. That passage was actually interesting. I actually think that would be an interesting concept for a story all in its own. But it only lasts a moment and then we move right along.
That leads me to what might be my biggest issue with this book. It is almost as if we are reading a history of this town rather than a narrative we are supposed to connect to. Despite some really lovely sentences, most of this book is telling, not showing us the world and the characters. As the reader, I felt like there was no room to just enjoy this world because of the rambling dense structure. There’s nothing wrong with letting a moment breathe. But there is none of that to be found in this book.
I don’t see myself going back to ever finish this book. I appreciate that many consider it to be an important and amazing piece of literature. It just doesn’t work for me.
Felt like page 335.
I normally don’t rate books I DNF, but I read a large chunk of this book. I skimmed the rest and since then I’ve read spoilery reviews and know that it’s just not going to be a story I will ever like. I am fully prepared to concede that this is a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. That being said, I do not get the hype.
The endless amounts of text on the page with almost no dialogue makes this a difficult narrative to get through. That being said, if the development of the characters had been...present...maybe I could’ve been okay with the structure. But there is so little attention paid to the many (MANY) characters that I honestly had trouble keeping them all straight. The women were there mostly as sexual objects for the men. The only one who was truly differentiated for me was Rebecca...because she ate dirt and sucked her thumb. Not exactly a stellar character.
The characters are written in such a detached way. There is almost no dialogue in this story, and what is there is essentially pointless. It doesn’t add anything to the narrative. It doesn’t provide any insight into the motivations of any specific character. I felt zero connection to any of them. For a book with so many characters...that’s not good.
There is also zero plot to this book, or if there is, it happens after page 135. Now, I’m not saying I need to have a plot-heavy, action-packed story. If the characters and the world are well-developed, I can forgive a mediocre or even non-existent plot. But as I said before, I found the characters lacking.
As far as the world-building, I wasn’t impressed. I enjoy magical realism. But I think my tastes run more toward the whimsical side of the genre. I didn’t get that at all in this story. Yes there were magical aspects to these characters and their surroundings, but I didn’t feel engaged at all while reading this story. The only part that mildly intrigued me was when the town came down with insomnia sickness. That passage was actually interesting. I actually think that would be an interesting concept for a story all in its own. But it only lasts a moment and then we move right along.
That leads me to what might be my biggest issue with this book. It is almost as if we are reading a history of this town rather than a narrative we are supposed to connect to. Despite some really lovely sentences, most of this book is telling, not showing us the world and the characters. As the reader, I felt like there was no room to just enjoy this world because of the rambling dense structure. There’s nothing wrong with letting a moment breathe. But there is none of that to be found in this book.
I don’t see myself going back to ever finish this book. I appreciate that many consider it to be an important and amazing piece of literature. It just doesn’t work for me.