Books: Bookworm's Adda discussion

Blurb on Goodreads:

One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement of a Nobel Prize winning career.

The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.

Love and lust, war and revolution, riches and poverty, youth and senility -- the variety of life, the endlessness of death, the search for peace and truth -- these universal themes dominate the novel. Whether he is describing an affair of passion or the voracity of capitalism and the corruption of government, Gabriel Garcia Marquez always writes with the simplicity, ease, and purity that are the mark of a master.

Alternately reverential and comical, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves the political, personal, and spiritual to bring a new consciousness to storytelling. Translated into dozens of languages, this stunning work is no less than an accounting of the history of the human race.


Happy Reading!

~RP

So, Who all has read so far? We can discuss here!

Yes, I have completed.
So, what about the character of Amaranta? What do you think about her?
Why did she refuse both proposals?

Amaranta refusal is purely based on her animosity for Rebeca. I will try to explain the reason in the best way I can Anirban-
Rebeca is warmly received into the family without a proper proof of her origins. Ursula treats her like one of her own. She eventually falls in love with Pietro Crespi and Crespi chooses her and not Amaranta inspite of Rebeca's immaturity(she sucks thumb and on a little provocation eats mud or earth). This fuels Amaranta's hatred for Rebeca further. Amaranta goes ahead and proposes Crespi to which he replies he has a younger brother(She gets flatly rejected).
Then Jose Arcadio returns home and takes Rebeca as his wife and Rebeca immediately rejects any hopes of marrying Crespi without any apprehensions.
So simply speaking Amaranta feels neglected as a daughter inspite of being dutiful, neglected as a lover although Crespi comes back and proposes marriage to her which makes her feel second-handed. She waits for Crespi to show his complete dedication towards his love for Amaranta but Amaranta tests him for too long and he commits suicide. Amaranta is completely devasted and loses interest in a possibility of love in the future.
As for Gerineldo Marquez, she did seem interested at first but again she wanted to test his dedication towards her but she herself loses any interest in the possibility of love.

WOW! Great observations Ritwik! I am quite agree with you.
I think Amaranta rejected Crespi because she felt she was given a 2nd hand love. I mean, she became second choice for Crespi and here again she was defeated before Rebeca. I think she was very egoist and that's why though she loved him, but could not admit her defeat. And marrying him means only defeat to Amaranta.

Very good observation :D Now, lets talk about the subject "A Hundred years of Solitude". Whose Solitude is it, you think?

I think many characters: Ursula , Arcardio Buenda (the head), Colonel Aureliano (Mostly), Rebeca, Segundo twins, Amaranta, the book keeper.And overall Macondo as it was separated from the whole world and diminished without anyone's knowledge.