Monday, May 05, 2014

Teaser Tuesday 217: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week I am reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez. I admit, I am struggling to get through this group read. It is slightly confusing keeping all the same-named characters straight, and the two-page long meandering paragraphs don't help. I started it last Thursday and am only about halfway through. It is not a fast read. I'm making it easy on myself this week by posting the opening sentences for my teaser.


Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs.

(Chapter 1)




ABOUT THE BOOK:

Probably Garcí­a Márquez finest and most famous work. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of a mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, alive with unforgettable men and women, and with a truth and understanding that strike the soul. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a masterpiece of the art of fiction.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human rice. It takes up not long after Genesis left off and carries through to the air age, reporting on everything that happened in between with more lucidity, wit, wisdom, and poetry than is expected from 100 years of novelists, let alone one man...Mr. Garcí­a Márquez has done nothing less than to create in the reader a sense of all that is profound, meaningful, and meaningless in life."--William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review

"Fecund, savage, irresistible....In all their loves, madness and wars, their alliances, compromises, dreams and deaths....The characters rear up large and rippling with life against the green pressure of nature itself."--Paul West, Book World



24 comments:

Vonnie said...

This one that I keep debating whether or not I should read this.

http://vonniesreadingcorner.blogspot.com/2014/05/teaser-tuesdays-84.html

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

I'm not sure about this one...I would love to be able to say I'd read it...but I'd have to be in the mood for those meandering sentences...LOL.

Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: MERCY SNOW

Faith Hope and Cherrytea said...

I think I enjoy my reading gratification gained more easily -
HapPy Tt!
Hist suspense and 2 giveaways at FHC

Alice Audrey said...

Isn't it amazing how many of those great, mile-marker books turn out to be hard to read? I'll stick with my fluff for the moment.

Sheri said...

Interesting teaser! Thanks for sharing and happy reading! Here is my teaser.

Heather said...

Vonnie: It is an interesting read, but - as I said - not an easy or fast one. If you like "world fiction" or classics give it a try.

Heather said...

Laurel-Rain: Those meandering sentences do require a bit more attention. They also make it difficult to find a good stopping point when the phone rings, or you're approaching your bus/train stop, LOL. Thanks for visiting!

Heather said...

Faith: Believe me, I'll be rewarding myself with either the new Nora Roberts or new Elizabeth Lowell as soon as I make it through this one. Will definitely need something a little faster and "lighter" after this one. :-|

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic teaser from a fantastic book. I love your choice!

Yvonne said...

I'm not sure it's something I'd like, but it does grab your attention.

Have a great week!

Heather said...

Alice: Isn't it just. Some classics have surprised me with how much I liked them and how fast they read. This is not one of them. I had a feeling this one would be more difficult to get into (which is why I didn't vote for it, LOL).

Heather said...

Thanks, Sheri - and thanks for leaving your link!

Heather said...

Thanks, Cleopatra - I take it you've read this one?

Heather said...

Yvonne: The opening definitely grabbed my attention, it just hasn't sustained that level of interest. At this point I am plowing my way through, determined not to give up.

Unknown said...

Sounds like quite the book!

Mine this week is for a young adult paranormal murder mystery. Check it out:
http://pdworkman.com/grave-artist-teaser/

Greg said...

Hmm, certainly sounds interesting. It appears from those first two sentences that the text will be quite descriptive, but yeah it might be a bit much. Good luck getting through it!

Heather said...

Hi PD! It is indeed quite the book. I'm sure your offering for the week is much lighter and easier to get through!

Heather said...

Greg: The language is indeed quite descriptive. Thanks for the luck--I may need it. ;)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great book.

Heather said...

Tribute: It's okay so far, though I'm really having to plow my way through.

Unknown said...

Oh wow, I've heard great things about this!

kayerj said...

I've heard good things about this book. nice teaser today. thanks for stopping by. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

Heather said...

Andrea: I've heard a lot about the book, too - which is why I decided to read it when I was able to find a copy, but it is not an easy read.

Heather said...

Thanks, Kelley - glad you liked the teaser. ☺