I guess it’s easier to appreciate this book once you realise our protagonists are effectively the villains of the story, or at least they’re bad people. It took me a while to clock that and I kept getting slightly outraged by the horrible things depicted, but in hindsight it makes sense. Once again, Garcia Marquez is not trying to be aspirational, he’s just pushing the boundaries of what excellent narration can do, weaving an intricate yet self referential epic that combines magic and history. It’s hard to ignore just what a feat that is.

The magical realism, the cyclical nature of time, the ghosts of the past, the generational trauma, memory and then the real life story of colonialism and independence, are only some of the most stunning themes. The ending, when all the threads are pull together, is particularly poetic, coming to a full circle from the very start of the buendia line.

Obviously the enjoyment was hindered by the ickiness of the recurrent incest and various examples of pedophilia to boot. Again, when you realise you’re not supposed to root for these people, and these are just examples of how cursed they are, it makes sense. But generally, Garcia Marquez is not the most charitable author when it comes to women, and I don’t always appreciate the over-sexualisation and sort of animal like descriptions he writes. 

Other than that, the writing is nearly impossible to fault, and the magical realism is just wonderful. It is a really exceptional novel, although it sadly falls short of being flawless in my opinion.