Read-Along - One Hundred Years of Solitude

This is the first of two posts for the read-along of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which is being hosted by Allie at A Literary Odyssey . I stopped at page 210.

 "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 in a Nobel Prize–winning career."

I had heard of it and seen it mentioned before I began reading but had no idea what it was about .

It is the story of the rise and fall of the town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family........through plagues of insomnia, civil war, hauntings and vendettas....... a chronicle of life and death.

Magic realism they call it - being unprepared it confused me at first but I came to think of it as a dreamscape. A mixture of the ordinary everyday and the weird, wild and wonderful. No indication of place or time period is given but it unfolds in the story. The themes are universal and many............interesting that time features so often because if this book deserves anything it is time spent on it . Not a page went by without I wanted to stop, to think , reflect or even simply enjoy the writing but I couldn't because I didn't have time. I have read my 210 pages but not in the way I would have preferred to which is unfortunate because it's spoilt the whole experience so far.

So I apologise for being unable to add anything interesting to the readalong...........the flu followed by two weeks of grandchildren for the school holidays is my sad excuse.