One Hundred Years of Solitude - Myths and Legends

[ArcherSnake]

I read this book awhile ago and absolutely loved it. But it was very vague about where and when the book took place. Does anyone know in what country the story is set? I'm assuming that it's somewhere in the Carribean or South America, but which country is it specifically? Which civil war is the one described based on? And over what period of time? I know it takes place over a period of around 100-150 years, but what years were those? I know that Marquez likes to blend fantasy and reality together, but I'm assuming that some of what takes place is at least loosely based on the history of an actual country.

[mono]

Though I have not yet had the pleasure of reading Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years Of Solitude, I did some research, out of mere curiosity, and found that the story takes place in a town called Macondo, but Márquez did apparently gain much inspiration from his home town of Aracataca, Colombia. As for the time frame, from the description of the story, I would guess the century period Márquez based on the mid-1800's to the mid-1900's.
Good luck, and I apologize that I cannot help more. ;)

[Mugwump101]

I'm the president of a classic book school at my high school. I chose this book because of the summary and consistant recommendations I receive from everyone else.

I want to start the discussion and distribution of the books in a really interesting manner.

-What kind of food is appropiate for this book?
-Should I distribute the books and discuss the author or start reading/acting out the first couple of chapters in the club?


Any ideas on how to approach this book for the first time and for continuing discussion?

[Riddleman]

-What kind of food is appropiate for this book?

I'd go for empanadas actually!
They're Colombian, fun to make and great to eat!

For the Salsa Picante
1 large white onion, finely chopped
3 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
1-2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (depending on how hot you want it)
2 limes, juice of
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
For the filling
1/2 lb hamburger meat
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medim onion, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons goya adobo seasoning, with comino (seasoning mix made by Goya)
1 package goya sazon goya with coriander and annatto (another Goya mix)
water
For the Dough
2 cups pre-cooked white cornmeal (I use the brand P.A.N.)
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil

[B-Mental]

I would serve a variety of bananas for this book, which I don't think is actually a classic (just because the Oprah's book club likes it does not make it a classic). Its a very good book, and I would start with a brief introduction to the author. good luck

[Mugwump101]

I would serve a variety of bananas for this book, which I don't think is actually a classic (just because the Oprah's book club likes it does not make it a classic). Its a very good book, and I would start with a brief introduction to the author. good luck

Why Bananas? I didn't read the book yet sorry but I'm going to introduce it on Tuesday. What purpose would the bananas serve to the book? It seems like a good idea because it's simple and easy to do with the short time left.

[Cien]

I would serve a variety of bananas for this book, which I don't think is actually a classic (just because the Oprah's book club likes it does not make it a classic).


Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the Nobel prize for literature long before Oprah's club decided One Hundred Years is wonderful. Not that every Nobel lit. winner has written things that can still be considered classics -- but I think this is turning out to be one.

[Scheherazade]

Last year, our Book Club read this one. You might find these threads handy:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18943

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19129


I think bananas are a good idea as they are mentioned on 43 different pages in the book :banana::

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0060740450/ref=sib_dp_pt/105-5671533-7326025#reader-link

[B-Mental]

Cien, I'm well aware that it is a very good book, but even if its fast on its way I find it hard to call it a classic.

[Mugwump101]

What are some good discussions and activities to do with this book during the first 150 pages? I decided to make fried Bananas.

[xoxgrlangl]

I am trying to find songs that relate to the main theme or events in each of the 20 chapters of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez.
Especially for Chapter 1,2,3. I need help finding the songs that relate.
Help is appreciated

[wassila]

hi, i haven't read yet that book, but you could tells us more about it if you wish us to be of a concrete help:)

[xoxgrlangl]

I will provide the summaries for Chapter 2 and 3. I already found a song for Chapter 1

Summary: Chapter 2
In telling the story of Macondo’s founding, the book now moves backward in time. The cousins José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán are born in a small village, the great-grandchildren of those surviving Sir Francis Drake’s attack on Riohacha. Úrsula is afraid to consummate their marriage, as children of incest were said to have terrible genetic defects. There was precedent for this: two of their relatives gave birth to a child with a pig’s tail. But as time passes after their marriage, and Ursula continues to refuse to have sex out of fear of the genetic deformity of their child, the people of the village begin to mock José Arcadio Buendía. When a rival, Prudencio Aguilar, implies that Buendía is impotent, Buendía kills him. Haunted by guilt and the specter of Aguilar, José Arcadio Buendía decides to leave his home. After many months of wandering, they establish the village of Macondo.
On seeing the ice of the gypsies, José Arcadio Buendía remembers his dream of Macondo as a city built with mirror-walls, which he interprets to mean ice. He immerses himself again in his scientific study, this time accompanied by his son Aureliano. Meanwhile, the older son, José Arcadio—still a teenager—is seduced by a local woman, Pilar Ternera, who is attracted to him because of the huge size of his penis. Eventually, he impregnates her. Before their child can be born, however, he meets a young gypsy girl and falls madly in love with her. When the gypsies leave town, José Arcadio joins them. Grief-stricken at the loss of her eldest son, Úrsula tries to -follow the gypsies, leaving behind her newborn girl, Amaranta. Five months later, Úrsula returns, having discovered the simple, two-day journey through the swamp that connects Macondo with civilization.

Summary: Chapter 3
As a result of Úrsula Iguarán’s discovery of a route connecting Macondo with civilization, the village begins to change. The village grows along with the Buendía family, with José Arcadio Buendía playing a key role in the expansion of both. Pilar Ternera gives birth to the son of the missing José Arcadio. The boy is named Arcadio. Joining the family, too, is an orphan girl, Rebeca, who arrives mysteriously one day and whose origin is unclear. Nevertheless, the Buendías raise her as one of their own children, first conquering her self-destructive habits of eating dirt and whitewash. Rebeca, it soon becomes evident, is afflicted with an insomnia that also causes memory loss. Eventually, the entire town becomes infected with insomnia and the associated amnesia. To facilitate memory, the inhabitants of the town begin to label everything; First they put up a giant sign to remind themselves that god exists, and then dread the day when the labels will have no meaning because the residents will have forgotten how to read. Pilar Ternera, who tells fortunes on a deck of cards, now uses the cards to tell the past as well. The insomnia is only cured when, unexpectedly, Melquíades the gypsy returns to town bearing an antidote. Melquíades, who, it seems, has returned from the dead, brings with him a technology never before seen in Macondo, the daguerreotype; José Arcadio Buendía sets to work trying to make a daguerreotype of God, to prove His existence. Aureliano, José Arcadio Buendía’s second son, has become a master silversmith. He spends his days shut up in the laboratory that he shares with Melquíades, each of them obsessively absorbed with their strange pursuits. Now mature, Aureliano remains solitary and aloof, apparently uninterested in women.
As the family and village expand, Ursula vastly expands the Buendía house. The town magistrate, a representative of the central government newly arrived in the formerly autonomous Macondo, attempts to dictate the color their house will be painted. José Arcadio Buendía drives the magistrate, Don Apolinar Moscote, out of town, and when Moscote returns—accompanied by his family and several soldiers—Buendía forces him to forfeit much of his authority over the village. Despite his father’s enmity toward the magistrate, however, Aureliano falls in love with the magistrate’s youngest daughter, Remedios Moscote.

[JulietteKlonk]

Very helpful post.
This is exactly what i was looking for.

[Red-Headed]

Definitely a classic. It would be fair to say that Marquez didn't invent magical realism but I think he did a lot to popularise it. After reading that I went on to read some of his short stories, Love in the Time of Cholera & The General in His Labyrinth. All of which I recommend & thoroughly enjoyed.

[springbeanqueen]

While I'm enjoying this novel, I am still confused regarding the time frame. The back of the book jacket states that it takes place where the book of Genesis ends, and the first chapter talks about how the world was so new that there weren't words for everything.

Yet, it is apparent that this takes place in the 18th century or so, as Jose uses magnets to find a 15th century set of armor. Am I missing something here?

[oshima]

The world in Solidtude is mythological, but heavily based on Columbian history. The comment, I believe, about Genisis was by a reviewer that was comparing it to Genisis in term of importance and insight into the human story. While I wouldnt normally reccomend a wikipedia article, the one on "Solidtude" contains most of the pertinent historical information. Marquez himself , if I remember correctly, said in an interview that he was suprised at the novel's popularity because it was something of a really big in-joke for Columbians.

[mal4mac]

Marquez himself , if I remember correctly, said in an interview that he was suprised at the novel's popularity because it was something of a really big in-joke for Columbians.

Marquez is a master of tongue-in-cheek comments - he said that Rabassa's translation was better than the original! Great way to sell it to an English speaking audience...

I'm reading this at the moment, in a superb Everyman hardback edition - as permanent as Marquez's magic trees! I don't have any idea when it is set, and don't really care. When and where did gypsies introduce flying carpets to South America? :-)

[mal4mac]

How's the reading going?

It's certainly rammed full of life, but it's difficult to absorb all the events and keep the relations between the characters in mind. But it is very tight & exciting, there are no wasted sentences. The magic is, indeed, magic - it seems to add a dimension, it's a kind of yeast that adds to what could otherwise be flat, grinding realism.

Don't blink or you'll miss something.

I'm not interested in drawing exact parallels with South American history - I'm a general reader not a social/literary historian. I want an enjoyable literary/artistic experience, not to use the novel as a basis for historical scholarship - though I'm not saying this would be a useless exercise - whatever floats your flying carpet...

[ikim0013]

Marquez wrote the book in Magical realism, where the boundaries of realism are stretched (ie. flying carpets, eternal gunpowder smell, eternal almond trees ect.)

My question is how do myths and legends (latin american folklore?) fit into this story. I read somewhere that Marquez wrote the book so that "a myth can enter at any given time."

Im having trouble identifying some of these myths. On the first few pages it mentions the rusted armor that was found with the magnets and later on the Spanish galleon. *Edit: Another would be the magical intrusion of the Wandering Jew
Anyone have ideas as to why, if there are (im having trouble finding them), the myths/legends are placed in the book?

thanksabunch

[henriquefb]

Hello!
First of all, what do you mean by myths? There is no such thing as a canon of "latin american folklore", from which you can extract well-defined myths such as the greek or nordic traditions. What you do have in the book, indeed, are many popular beliefs which are common on the region. Since I'm not colombian I can't tell about every single one of them, but I can tell about the ones which can be seen in Brazil as well.

[Enigma]

Hello,

I am new to this forum :). I started this thread because I searched the forum for the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (It won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982). I looked into the authors listed on this site, and there isn't a Marquez on here.

Anyhow, I just wanted to see if any one on this forum has read the book and can give me their interpretation of the book. I am currently six chapters away from finishing the novel, and plan on reading Love In The Time Of Cholera (another great novel) in the original text it was written in.... In Spanish!

Thanks for reading!!

[Scheherazade]

Welcome to the Forum, Enigma.

You might find these discussions useful:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44086&highlight=solitude

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18943

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19129&highlight=solitude

[Darcy88]

If I could define this book in one word that word would be "entertaining." I've read the book twice and both times I was utterly swept up by it. I must admit I have little insight into its meaning as I read it at so fast a pace my thoughts could not keep up with my eyes. The book is a night at a circus or a magic show.

Anything is possible, nothing is possible. People ascend to the heavens, babies are born with the tails of pigs and carpets really do fly and, yet, love, happiness, peace, those everyday things we often take for granted, prove always unobtainable, always beyond reach.

The power of Marquez's imagination and his confidence in laying it on the page is downright marvelous, incredible.

[Des Essientes]

This book is an utterly amazing masterpiece. I believe the 100 years is based on Ibn Khaldoon's philosophy of history in which a dynasty is founded, in this case the town of Macondo, and it thrives for two generations, with decadence setting in at the third, until it is wiped away, as Macondo literally is by the wind.

[cafolini]

If I could define this book in one word that word would be "entertaining." I've read the book twice and both times I was utterly swept up by it. I must admit I have little insight into its meaning as I read it at so fast a pace my thoughts could not keep up with my eyes. The book is a night at a circus or a magic show.

Anything is possible, nothing is possible. People ascend to the heavens, babies are born with the tails of pigs and carpets really do fly and, yet, love, happiness, peace, those everyday things we often take for granted, prove always unobtainable, always beyond reach.

The power of Marquez's imagination and his confidence in laying it on the page is downright marvelous, incredible.

I agree, Darcy that the magical realism of the piece is some of the best. But let me tell you that not much of it is pure imagination. In order to see that you would have to become very acquainted with the cultures of the Caribbean and Colombia. Most of it is satire about very real events of the mad Spanish origin, combined with Colombia's political realities that are beyond other cultures. The magical realism is defiant. He's often making fun of traditional academics. The question is, apart from what I already said about facts of the region, "how could anything so magical could at the same time be so realistic?"

[Enigma]

This is my first stint reading Marquez's work, and I must say I am enjoying it immensely.

What I have researched about this book is that he gathered most of the stories in the book through cultural experiences as a child. He also wrote the book in the way his grandmother would tell him stories of old folklore.

It seems like most of the events in the book are related to Latin American history. When the "gringos" arrived to Macondo, they started to slowly colonize the inhabitants of Macondo. In that sense, you can see how it ties into Latin American history,and North American history, and how the Spanish settlers arrived in Latin America and colonized the indigenous people.

It's just an amazing piece of art, in regard that he meshes certain types of historical events, and a beautiful poetry prose that can make the magic realism coincide with everyday events or descriptions.

[cafolini]

This is my first stint reading Marquez's work, and I must say I am enjoying it immensely.

What I have researched about this book is that he gathered most of the stories in the book through cultural experiences as a child. He also wrote the book in the way his grandmother would tell him stories of old folklore.

It seems like most of the events in the book are related to Latin American history. When the "gringos" arrived to Macondo, they started to slowly colonize the inhabitants of Macondo. In that sense, you can see how it ties into Latin American history,and North American history, and how the Spanish settlers arrived in Latin America and colonized the indigenous people.

It's just an amazing piece of art, in regard that he meshes certain types of historical events, and a beautiful poetry prose that can make the magic realism coincide with everyday events or descriptions.

Very good and accurate, elucidating critique. It is indeed about colonization and banana republic considerations. But unlike many other books written about the subject, Marquez premises depict the entire gamut and does not unilaterally blame de Gringo. In fact, most of the blame in between the lines goes to the fascist spanish colonization. And you are absolutely correct about the magic coinciding with everyday events and accurate mythology of the times. If you are interested in another aspect of the history and the position of the ones who waged political wars, read another funny one, Nobody writes to the colonel. It is a short novella. Then, for a major work of history, read The general and his labyrinth, about Simon Bolivar, a very interesting character of the wars of independence of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. I wish he had written another one about General San Martin, to crash the myths of that royalist trapped in the hands of Argentinean, superficial historians.
Have fun. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Enigma]

Nobody writes to the colonel

That sounds something I would like to read. Since Marquez has intrigued me to learn about the Latin American history, I have this 3 part series book, novel, poems, I can't really categorize it into a certain genre. The tittle of the book is:

Memory Of Fire: Genesis by Eduardo Galleano.

It was given to me since I've been reading Marquez and the person who gave it to me said it deals with Latin American folklore and what the indigenous people's beliefs where about since the starting of creation. If you haven't read it, or your also curious or interested in Latin American folklore I recommend you pick it up!

The General In His Labyrinth will be on the list as well! Thanks!

[cafolini]

Nobody writes to the colonel

That sounds something I would like to read. Since Marquez has intrigued me to learn about the Latin American history, I have this 3 part series book, novel, poems, I can't really categorize it into a certain genre. The tittle of the book is:

Memory Of Fire: Genesis by Eduardo Galleano.

It was given to me since I've been reading Marquez and the person who gave it to me said it deals with Latin American folklore and what the indigenous people's beliefs where about since the starting of creation. If you haven't read it, or your also curious or interested in Latin American folklore I recommend you pick it up!

The General In His Labyrinth will be on the list as well! Thanks!

You know, I loved Galleano's non-fictional analyses of the Latin American and third-world situations. But Galleano has been used by the Maffias operating the systems against USA. A good example of this is Hugo Chavez. Still, I recommend that great Uruguayan writer for the valuable and accurate historical refferences. Superb. Going back, I recommend Onetti, another great writer from Uruguay who depicted the Argentinean maffias from Buenos Aires.