Showing posts with label magical realism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magical realism. Show all posts

Saturday, September 3, 2022

One Hundred Years of Solitude


 

By: Gabriel García Márquez, (Gregory Rabassa, translator)
Narrated by: John Lee
Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-28-14

 

 

 

Editorial Review

Already a journalist and writer of literary fiction, lauded Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez made his true debut into magical realism with One Hundred Years of Solitude. This piece of literature is a treasure of Latin America's 20th-century literary scene and a strong piece of Colombian history.

The character-driven story of the mythical town of Macondo showcases all aspects of the human race. From the introspective and haunted patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, and his wife, Úrsula Iguarán, to illegitimate son Aureliano José, one of the many Aureliano Buendía's fathered by Colonel Aureliano Buendía, each character is unique and emblematic of the spectrum of humanity housed in this fictional town.

Gabriel García Márquez did more than launch his own foray into magic realism with this piece of classic literature. He was also one of the first four authors from South America named as part of the Latin American Boom, a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, and Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, the Colombian icon’s work was circulated worldwide. To date, One Hundred Years of Solitude has sold 50 million copies in 46 languages and counting.

John Lee adds his voice to this brilliant chronicle of life for Latin Americans, making the audiobook come to life for the listener. He brings the art of García Márquez’s fiction and the lyrical magic of the town of Macondo to the forefront with a strong delivery, worthy of patriarch José Arcadio Buendía, all the way down to Aureliano Babilonia of the sixth generation. — Audible Latino Editor

 

This will be short

I have always been enthralled by and in awe of Garcia M's imagination. He leaves me speechless each time I read his work. Where do these words and images come from? The truth is that I am not as interested in the story arc or deeper meanings as I am in spending time with the characters, the setting and the language -- even in translation.

 

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Once Upon a River

 

by Diane Setterfield (read by Juliet Stevenson)
Library loan
 
 
Once Upon a River Audiobook By Diane Setterfield cover art

 
 

Thanks to Mike Finn for this one

Another case of the perfect marriage of tale and narrator. The story is one of those that seems to  swirls around in the mist, making Juliet Stevenson's foggy voice  the perfect choice.  As I started listening to this book, the first word that came to mind was "lyrical"  and I was slowly but surely drawn into the mist and the magic of what I was hearing. 

I doubt that I would have ever chosen this book if it weren't for a review written by one of my bookish buddies, Mike Finn. It isn't often that our reading taste cross but when they do,  I know that I have found a story that I will enjoy.

Four stars