And thus it is done!
Yes, this morning at 3:50 am I finally finished One Hundred Years of Solitude. And god damn, what an unbelievable book. I'm still reeling from the onslaught. In a way I'm glad it's over because now I can get back to my life(!!) but after spending what actually felt like an entire century with the Buendias in Macondo and witnessing the tragic end of the family as well as the town, I have this unshakable feeling of emptiness way down deep in the pit of my stomach. Hm
Recap?
Favorite image: Jose Arcadio Buendia and his companions waking up to find a Spanish Galleon covered with flowers
Parts that made me laugh out loud: During the insomnia plague-Jose Arcadio Buendia hanging a sign around the cow's neck which read "This is the cow. She must be milked every morning so that she will produce milk, and the milk must be boiled in order to be mixed with coffee to make coffee and milk". HA! Also, I laughed at Fernanda's 3 page long tirade that finally resulted in Aureliano Segundo calmly destroying every breakable object in the house.
Most disturbing death: Col Aureliano! Something about thinking about how he never developed a capacity for intimacy, thinking about how hard he fought his wars and how vicious he became in the pursuit of victory (and then defeat), thinking about him sequestered in that little room making those little fish, and then thinking about him after all those struggles with a constant chill in his bones with his head against the tree thinking about all the images from the circus as he died.....something about that scene really bothered me.
Damn.
I'm going to have to resist the urge to re-read it right away. Next up on my reading list is Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, but after the ultradense hyperbrilliance of One Hundred Years of Solitude I may need something lighter next.
Any suggestions?
Yes, this morning at 3:50 am I finally finished One Hundred Years of Solitude. And god damn, what an unbelievable book. I'm still reeling from the onslaught. In a way I'm glad it's over because now I can get back to my life(!!) but after spending what actually felt like an entire century with the Buendias in Macondo and witnessing the tragic end of the family as well as the town, I have this unshakable feeling of emptiness way down deep in the pit of my stomach. Hm
Recap?
Favorite image: Jose Arcadio Buendia and his companions waking up to find a Spanish Galleon covered with flowers
Parts that made me laugh out loud: During the insomnia plague-Jose Arcadio Buendia hanging a sign around the cow's neck which read "This is the cow. She must be milked every morning so that she will produce milk, and the milk must be boiled in order to be mixed with coffee to make coffee and milk". HA! Also, I laughed at Fernanda's 3 page long tirade that finally resulted in Aureliano Segundo calmly destroying every breakable object in the house.
Most disturbing death: Col Aureliano! Something about thinking about how he never developed a capacity for intimacy, thinking about how hard he fought his wars and how vicious he became in the pursuit of victory (and then defeat), thinking about him sequestered in that little room making those little fish, and then thinking about him after all those struggles with a constant chill in his bones with his head against the tree thinking about all the images from the circus as he died.....something about that scene really bothered me.
Damn.
I'm going to have to resist the urge to re-read it right away. Next up on my reading list is Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, but after the ultradense hyperbrilliance of One Hundred Years of Solitude I may need something lighter next.
Any suggestions?