One Hundred Years of Solitude ranks among the greatest novels in Latin American literature. The novel, published in 1967, gained international acclaim for its author, Gabriel García Márquez of Colombia.
The novel takes place in the fictional town of Maracopa, the setting for many of García Márquez’s novels and short stories. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of seven generations of the Buendía family, the founders of the isolated jungle town. The novel portrays the adventures of the family and the history of Macondo from the early 1800’s to the early 1900’s. The events in the novel are often tragic. But García Márquez describes them in the form of a humorous tall tale.
One Hundred Years of Solitude was a central work during the Boom, a period of Latin American literature from the late 1950’s to the early 1970’s. Boom writers developed a style known as magic realism. This style blends fantasy, dreams, and magic with everyday reality.
Like other Boom authors, García Márquez experimented with language and structure. For example, the novel distorts time, with some characters living far beyond normal life expectancies.
García Márquez also wove Colombian history into his narrative. For example, the character of Colonel Aureliano Buendía is based on the military career of a real Colombian general, Rafael Uribe Uribe. One Hundred Years of Solitude has been interpreted as a symbolic history of Latin America told with mythical characters and places.
See also Boom; García Márquez, Gabriel; Latin American literature.
