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Paul Bryant's Reviews > One Hundred Years of Solitude
One Hundred Years of Solitude
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Well Mr Marquez may have a Nobel Prize for his mantelpiece and a pretty good imagination for writing what with the levitating women and babies made of ice cream but he has no imagination at all when he is thinking of his characters names which are like to drive you entirely insane in this novel, will you please look at this. There are five people called Arcadio, ,three ladies called Remedios, two ladies called Amaranta and there’s a Pietro and a Petra which look quite similar, and there are 23 people called Aureliano (17 of them sons of an Aureliano, so this father has as much lack of name imagination as Mr Marquez). It does give a reader brain ache trying to remember who is who and why they are levitating and which one lives to be 530 years old. I think this is a very good novel for people who like to go into trances for hours at a time.
by
Well Mr Marquez may have a Nobel Prize for his mantelpiece and a pretty good imagination for writing what with the levitating women and babies made of ice cream but he has no imagination at all when he is thinking of his characters names which are like to drive you entirely insane in this novel, will you please look at this. There are five people called Arcadio, ,three ladies called Remedios, two ladies called Amaranta and there’s a Pietro and a Petra which look quite similar, and there are 23 people called Aureliano (17 of them sons of an Aureliano, so this father has as much lack of name imagination as Mr Marquez). It does give a reader brain ache trying to remember who is who and why they are levitating and which one lives to be 530 years old. I think this is a very good novel for people who like to go into trances for hours at a time.
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Dec 16, 2013 09:00AM
that's a really nice explanation/apologia for GGM's maddening technique.... I do love One Hundred Years and I do want to reread it, but ... hmm, maybe in one hundred years' time.
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John wrote: "I shared the same feeling when first reading "Cien Años". And the more I read it, the more I realized what Marquez was doing to me.(Forgive me if I am pointing out the obvious here.)Everything in M..."Great analysis! Thanks for sharing that.
Ice-cream babies?!I don't remember them, but I do remember being driven mad by the names - even though I jotted them down as I went. (It was only after I finished that I noticed a family tree!)
I made that up. But it's something similar.
I thought you probably had - but the fact I wasn't certain isn't purely down to the fact I read it several years ago. ;)
Hi Gabriel - I know you are right, but you gotta admit it makes for a weird and somewhat frustrating reading experience at times, even though it's a stone masterpiece.
also true of the Old Testament.
I had just marked this book as a TBR, but after reading your review, I think I'll unmark it again. It drives me nuts when there are too many characters in a book, and to think that they are even more confusable because of identical names. Not for me! thanks for the warning, Paul.
Lilo wrote: "I had just marked this book as a TBR, but after reading your review, I think I'll unmark it again. It drives me nuts when there are too many characters in a book, and to think that they are even mo..."No, Lilo! Please don't do that!
Gabriel wrote: "Just to clarify: the repetition of names is intended to show the circular manner of how the world is seen by South Americans, mainly the ones who live in rural areas. Thats also the reson of why yo..."Reading your comment, I understand that there might have been a reason for repeating names, but I am rather sure that I won't torture my 74-year-old brain with a book containing a complicated family tree with repetitive names.
Paul wrote: "also true of the Old Testament."This just confirms my intention that I won't reread the Old Testament either. :-)
Riku wrote: No, Lilo! Please don't do that! Will you sit next to me when I read this book and hold my hand while I kill your last nerve asking for the umptieth time which Arcadio and which Remedio I am just reading about? :-)
O.k.! I'll reconsider.
Lilo wrote: "Riku wrote: No, Lilo! Please don't do that! Will you sit next to me when I read this book and hold my hand while I kill your last nerve asking for the umptieth time which Arcadio and which Remedi..."
HAHA! :) But the thing is that all that doesn't really matter. It is not a Russian novel you know. You can take it easy with the names, you will get to know the important ones and the rest won't bug you too much. Thanks for reconsidering!
five stars, Lilo - I don't hand those out lightly. Even the Bible only got four.
Paul wrote: "five stars, Lilo - I don't hand those out lightly. Even the Bible only got four."O.k.! It'll stay on my TBRs. (I think I gave the Bible only 3 stars. Too many co-authors! :-))
Also the plot resolution was a total deus ex machina, no plausibility at all.
Paul wrote: "Also the plot resolution was a total deus ex machina, no plausibility at all."I'd know a few more flaws, but I don't want to get burned on the stake. :-)
Under EU law that's no longer permitted, I'm glad to say.
Paul wrote: "Under EU law that's no longer permitted, I'm glad to say."Well, that's European law. I live in Utah.
For me this is a Matserpiece too!
I think the same names are used to make the family itself a character instead of delineating the individuals. Their identities mix and become one due to their inherited traits and nature
yeah, that must be it - it makes for a strange reading experience which I remember I really loved at the time. This review is somewhat tongue in cheek.
Marquez purposefully confuses the reader with repetitive names and patently absurd scenarios so that one gets totally lost in the narrative without analysing. This is the "magical" part of his realism.
and if you can hop aboard the magical slow train it's a great ride. But I can believe it will drive some people round the bend.
I'm unimpressed with the lack of imagination indicated by the repeating names too. But, if you google spanish names there really isn't a hell of a lot to choose from. But, it could be worse. 53% of Muslim males are named Mohammed, Moe, or Sammy.
Nandakishore wrote: "Marquez purposefully confuses the reader with repetitive names and patently absurd scenarios so that one gets totally lost in the narrative without analysing. This is the "magical" part of his real..."
That sounds about as "magical" as putting a bag over everyone's head.
That sounds about as "magical" as putting a bag over everyone's head.
Paul wrote: "and if you can hop aboard the magical slow train it's a great ride. But I can believe it will drive some people round the bend."I guess so. It's even more so with The Autumn of the Patriarch, the favourite Marquez book for many, but which bogged me down completely.
ShantyI wrote: "Nandakishore wrote: "That sounds about as "magical" as putting a bag over everyone's head. "
Actually it's not: I have found the dreamy timelessness and the ambiguous nature of the narrative enthralling, but then, it's all a matter of taste.
I agree, the names do give the reader a brain ache, Paul (another reviewer said that the book should come supplied with a family tree!). : )That being said, I am delighted that you enjoyed this spellbinding novel.
A most excellent review!
thanks Kevin - it's a candidate for a reread, for sure. Except I don't do that much as there still seem to be so many books I haven't even read once...
Paul wrote: "thanks Kevin - it's a candidate for a reread, for sure. Except I don't do that much as there still seem to be so many books I haven't even read once..."Amen to that. : )
Nobody is ever ready for the first read of this book. But now I'm sure one of those who like to go into trances for hours at a time. Thanks for this review, Paul.
you're welcome - i am sure you'll like this...
Judging from your review and the comments, I’d be wise to shelve this one under “challenging” reads? Right now the only one on that list is Proust’s “A la recherche du temps perdu” ... not sure if you’ve read it or are interested, but I’ll find out in a minute since I’m looking at possibly purchasing that book again 😬It seems, much like One Hundred Years of Solitude, to be largely a matter of taste. I’m trying to choose between this one, Proust, and The Gulag Archipelago... if you’d like to suggest one of the three, I’d appreciate it! If not, then it’s understandable as well (especially if you haven’t read the other two...I’m also going WAY off topic on your review! Sorry!).
I never read Gulag Archipelago & Proust always sounded gruesome to me so I always suggest Ulysses as a challenging read where the challenges are worth it; unlike many others where they aren't, where the book is just grueling and zero fun.
The Greek translation contained a family tree at the beginning, it was very helpful
