Week 11Annotation: Fantasy/Literary Fiction Category

**CLASSIC IN THIS GENRE*

Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Title: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Genre: Fantasy/Literary Fiction

Publication Date: 1970 (English Translation); 1967 Argentina

Geographical Setting: Latin America

Time Period: Early Latin America settlements 1700's?

Series: No

Plot Summary: The plot takes place in an imaginary town of Macondo. The reader watches the town develop through the efforts of one family and the people who move and come in and out of this town over a period of 100 years. It touches on the history and beginnings of settlements in Latin America. Every facet of human relations and dealings are woven throughout this epic tale. It is the wonderful way that Marquez tells the story, in his own unique style, that give the characters and the genealogy of the central family the magnificence that is theirs. Fantastic!

Subject Headings: Latin America, Human Settlements, Latin Genealogy

Appeal: Author won the Nobel Prize in Literature 1982 for this book and his short stories. This is also what makes it a classic.

3 terms that best describe this book: Epic. Intelligent. Spell-binding.

My Summary: I love everything Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes!He is my favorite writer in the same regard as Van Gogh is my favorite artist. I also feel as if Marquez is the second greatest writer, next to Shakespeare, that ever lived. His use of language is nothing short of miraculous: the way his words can take you into levels of your imagination that you did not even know existed. I have literally sat and cried at the beauty by which he describes things; almost as if it is a holy experience. I have never read another author who can with such style, wit, and grace transport me to worlds and people unimaginable.

In One Hundred Years of Solitude, one will discover a not-so-easy read, but if one sticks it out, even toiling through the long list of genealogy of the characters, it will all make sense and be worth the read. What struck me about this book, and I continue to think about is- who were the first people in any land who settle an area initially, and then develop a community and civilization? How odd it must be for the first settlers who settle in their 20's see the town they founded when in their 60's? Every feeling and issue that humanity could ever possibly face, as well as society, is covered in this book. I loved it!

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