Upon reading 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez as well as doing research for the projects due Tuesday, I have discovered this book, along with Don Quixote, is the equivalent in Latin America to reading the Bible and it’s a pretty big deal if you HAVEN’T read it. It is evident why, as it reflects all aspects of Columbian culture concerning religion, war, politics, and more.
However, in the article assigned for homework this past Monday night, it was revealed that the writing and publication of this book was not a smooth ride for Marquez or his family. And after going through school studying a major he had no interest in, continuing on in his travels not making the best impressions along the way (most notably New York and Columbia), everything was laid out on the line for this book.
I thought it was the most extraordinary thing that as Marquez isolated himself for 18 months to write this novel and put his family in debt, the whole town had so much hope in his writing skill that they helped support the family. They extended credit, forgave loans, and more. The town could have easily turned their heads but they didn’t. Because of that, a great masterpiece was written.
This is such an encouraging story of how this book came to be and it truly amazes me the family went through so much for this one piece of literature with the possibility of it completely failing in sales. Marquez’s description and reflection of the real events in Columbia that inspired his writing evoked many feelings in the community that aided him, while also being applicable to certain cultural aspects of the world today. It is truly an inspiring, timeless novel.
(references from https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/12/gabriel-garcia-marquez-one-hundred-years-of-solitude-history and http://www.variomagazine.com/content.asp?id=4 )
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