Marquez, G. G. (1991). One hundred years of solitude. New York: Harper Perennial.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is a novel written by Gabriel García Márquez that narrates a multi-generational story of the real life of the author’s hometown as well as of the fictional town of Macondo. In both towns, foreign fruit companies had improved the economies of both towns at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, by the time of Márquez’s birth, Aracataca had begun a long, slow decline into poverty and obscurity, a decline mirrored by the fall of Macondo in the novel. One Hundred Years of Solitude is probably the most important and widely read novel during that period.
The story draws from the Colombian history where the will of man to power enables him to invent the world according to his perception. The author of the novel uses magical realism to compress centuries of cause and effects while telling an interesting story. Additionally, the novel illustrates that contemporary Latin America has resulted from the absence of purposeful political organization and will required for progress. The problems experienced in Latin America come because of lack of national unity, which only result into self-destruction rather than preservation. The author uses the fantastical world of Macondo to symbolize the historical reality of Latin American countries.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is an important novel because it appeals to a broader sphere of experience. The novel presents a sketch of histories of plantations, civil war, and labor unrest in the Columbian history, and the broader Latin America struggles with colonialism and the emergence of modernity. This novel does not only appeal to Latin America experiences, but also the issues bordering on human nature. In conclusion, it is a novel as much about specific historical and social circumstances disguised by fiction and fantasy.
Reference:
Marquez, G. G. (1991). One hundred years of solitude. New York: Harper Perennial.
