One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez follows a Colombian family through seven generations. The story covers the founding of the town of Macando through the hurricane that destroys the town and family.
I was most interested in the first two generations and the last two generations. Origin stories always intrigue me. Generation by generation though, all characters were named the same with personality traits also being passed-down associated with the names.
Magical realism played its part within the story. My favorite was the sleeping plague: everyone in the town was unable to sleep. Many of the characters lived well beyond a natural lifespan and the final un-reality is when the last adult deciphers an encrypted cipher that generations of Buendía family men had failed to decipher. The secret message informed the recipient of every fortune and misfortune lived by the Buendía Family generations. He deciphers the description of his demise as he reads it.
A non-story related note: when I transported the book home for the first time in the back seat of my car, a bottle of basil olive oil spilled over the book, soaking 3/4 of the pages. After it “dried” and I would read the book, I experienced a most pleasant olfactory accompaniment. Although “library” is a pleasing smell, I’m thinking all books should come with a signature scent.
