Reader's Digestion: "100 Years of Solitude"

What I am reading/listening to as a PhD candidate working on the neuromicrobiome.

This month, I revisited a classic: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I first read this novel as a teen—it was the first book in Spanish that completely enthralled me. Nearly a decade later, it still holds up. Actually, it hits even harder. I rated it 5 stars on Goodreads, and here’s why.

Márquez is a masterclass in magical realism, diaspora, war, and tragedy. Through the story of the Buendía family and the town of Macondo, he weaves together the absurd and the intimate, the mythical and the political. The book captures the cycles of history in a way that feels both surreal and familiar—especially as a Caribbean person. Reading it now, the rise and fall of Macondo feels like a mirror to so many communities grappling with memory, violence, and the question of where we go next.

And if you haven’t heard, One Hundred Years of Solitude just got adapted into a Netflix series! A new Spanish-language series was released in 2024, executive produced by García Márquez’s sons. So whether you’re new to Macondo or long overdue for a return, now’s a great time to pick up the book—and maybe stream the show right after.

Here’s the details:
Page Count: 417 pages
Genre: Magical Realism / Literary Fiction
How I read it: Audiobook
Where I got it: Libby

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Happy reading! :)

Mel