40. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Set in the mythical town of Macondo, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendia family. Over the period of one hundred years, the Buendia family (whose predecessor is Jose Arcadio) experiences the rise and fall of their beloved home town. Jose Arcadio and his wife Ursula are the leaders of an expedition that travels to the unpopulated swamps far beyond the reach of any civilization to create the town of Macondo. The story continues through their children, their children's children and so on through six generations of the Buendia family.

This is the September book club selection for my family, so I don't want to give too much away. I really enjoyed this book. There were so many fanciful and unbelievable stories and experiences that the Buendia family members went through - you know they can't be true but you find yourself wanting to believe them because they help bring the lovable characters of the Buendia family to life. Garcia Marquez did a wonderful job weaving fantasy with real life. When asked how he came up with the writing style for One Hundred Years of Solitude, Garcia Marquez wrote:

The tone that I eventually used in One Hundred Years of Solitude was
based on the way my grandmother used to tell stories. She told things that
sounded supernatural and fantastic, but she told them with complete naturalness
. . . What was most important was the expression she had on her face. She
did not change her expressions at all when telling her stories . . . In previous
attempts to write, I tried to tell the story without believing in it. I
discovered that what I had to do was believe in them myself and write them with
the same expression with which my grandmother told them: with a brick face."

I had a hard time putting this book down. I kept wondering what would happen to each member of the Buendia family. Garcia Marquez really pulled me in with his writing style and I really enjoyed this book.

Rating: 4/5