Indonesians Who Love English Books discussion

Has anybody read Gabriel García Márquez's works? Like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera... And what do you think of them? Are they worth reading? I seem to get highly mixed reviews on these two...

Would you recommend Marquez's books as must-read, though? Some people say the plot is rather bizarre and has too many holes.

I'm new to the genre of magical realism. I just "discovered" this genre after reading a review for Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. But I haven't read the book itself, so I don't know.

I've been avoiding his books because magical realism in general makes me angry... :p I just don't like bizarre stories that are resolved by magic. If one wants to write bizarre stories, please have the imagination to resolve them by realistic means. So yeah, as a stickler to logic, I feel the whole genre is an insult to my intelligence, but it's just me... hehehe.

So yeah, definitely not for me, but I know many people enjoyed his books.

Hi Anna, if you're familiar with Latin America history, One Hundred Years of Solitude will be a great treat. I read the everyman library edition, the one with introduction and background history and it helps a lot in pinpoint what is actually happend.

My first Marquez book is Love in time of Cholera though. I think it's lighter and easier to enjoy than One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Why thanks, guys. Looks like a whole different world, magical realism. Gotta look into it some time soon. I'll probably pick up Solitude first because it has a slightly higher rating here in Goodreads.

I am really going against the majority here, but I really didn't like Love in the Time of Cholera; that turned me off from all his other works. I tried so hard to get into it, I just couldn't. The only part I liked was the beginning, I think it was even just the first chapter. But from then on, it was downhill.

And don't even try watching the movie. It's worse.

However, that being said, I have major respect for people who enjoy his work. I just think that the beauty of his work eluded me. Maybe it's too much over my head, hehe.

That makes two of us, Rachel. Was not a huge fan of Love in the Time of Cholera. Felt like the story never went anywhere and never got exciting after the first few chapters.

I read the translated version of One Hundred years of Solitude. That is one of the best book I've ever read. It's a heavy book and you have to be fully concentrated when reading it. I read it during long flight and when I reached the last page, I couldn't believe the ending!

It was like oh my god! It's really in the genes! LOL