Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magnum opus One Hundred Years of Solitude is a chronological account of the Buendia family. It takes place in the fictionalized town of Macondo, which was founded by Jose Arcadio Buendia, the family's patriarch. Throughout the novel, Marquez expounds on the defining sociopolitical events that have unraveled in Columbia, from the colonial era to contemporary life, with Macondo and the Buendias the conduit. By no means does this work only apply to Columbia, no, Marquez has encapsulated the dynamics of Latin America itself. In order to fully comprehend the social, political, and cultural landscape of Latin America reading the work is a prerequisite. It is the quintessential book on the inner-workings of a complex and often erroneously perceived civilization. How is Marquez's work relevant to the topic of literary ascendancy? He has established a literary imperative. It will be, regardless if it is fifty years later or millennia later, an integral work in the study of literary history. One simply can not discuss 20th century literature without mentioning the preeminent author of South America. Lest we forget the historical impact this novel has, and will continue to have indefinitely. It has and will always be true that to capture the essence of a civilization, one must not analyze exclusively non-fiction accounts of the society in question, but to learn from, to hear the accounts of someone who bore witness. Thorough research demands intuitive, sapient sources, and none are more apt than Marquez. When I read any of his works, I am ushered into his world, a world that straddles the border of reality and the supernatural. A successful author carries me into his soul, his mind. If their vision, their thoughts, feelings, aspirations are still being accessed, are they truly dead?