One Hundred Years of Solitude - Garcia Marquez

Garcia Marquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude has long been on my list of books to read. I don't really know what to expect from the author or his novel, however, I do hope the experience is enjoyable and carries a message that resonates long after I complete the novel. Though not very far into the novel, I already find each character to be unique and solely wrapped up in their own world. It seems that there is an overwhelming sadness the can be seen throughout the characters and in the seemingly bleak world they live in. This sadness can be found in Aureliano and his choice to remain chaste in order to "hide the shame of his uselessness" (58). It can be found in Ursula and her trapped, almost claustrophobic feeling in Macondo, in which she claims "We'll never get anywhere...we're going to rot our lives away here without receiving the benefits of science" (13). Lastly, Jose Arcadio, who escapes with the gypsies in search of a zest for life, carries a sadness with him as well. I question why this could be? Life in Macondo seems simple, yet I get the feeling that it is also incredibly troublesome and bleak. The characters search for ways of distraction from the realities of their world. Magical realism blurs the dimensions of real and non-real in the novel. Young Aureliano predicts that the pot of steaming soup, though firmly placed in the center of the table is going to spill. It soon begins its migration to the edge and falls crashing to the floor. The explanation: a kind of natural phenomenon. Magical realism is used by the characters as a way of escape, a challenge to what can actually happen, and what can happen with the power of imagination.