26 Years of Solitude

Finished reading the long 100 yrs of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And back to that uneasy feeling of not understanding anything after reading a book. The book is a classic, say all. I agree. But the problem is with me I guess. It is not about English, mind you. Certainly not for a person who has cleared the dreaded comprehensions of CAT. But in the novel there are so many characters and events that it is difficult to nderstand the meaning and significance of them all. The web of Aureliano and Arcadio is so woven that a naive reader finds it bemusing.

I first encountered that problem while reading another classic Catch-22. There too I cannt understand what the novel was about? It is a military satire but its in-your face type of humour was apalling, at least for me. Then there was Alchemist where the boy talked to sand, wind and sun. But here author Pauleho Coelho tried to explain the events himself which made it easier for reader to understand them. Similar is the case of Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The interaction between the person and the tiger are well depicted and their significance explained therein.

But not with 100 yrs of solitude. It is one long epic with nothing explained between. It goes on and on. It is "boring" for a person fed on doses of Sidney Sheldon and Jeffrey Archer. The most important part is that I dont even understand its overall theme as to what novel is about. I read it in our OR and Prodman class. Not that if I have paid attention in Prodman classes, I would have fared well in the exams, considering the exam paper.

And the feeling of restlessness is becase someone had written a classic which so many ppl have appreciated worldwide. But here I am, not able to fathom it. Maybe the analytical approach followed in IIT and IIM have blnted my mind to the abstracts. Maybe I have to unlearn some of the things in life. Or maybe take some English Literature course somewhere.JEE and CAT are not sufficient.


Tag: Gabriel Garcia Marquez||Hundred Years of Solitude