SPAN 70.02 One Hundred Years of Solitude
Few literary works have ever fascinated readers all over the world the way One Hundred Years of Solitude has. Gabriel García Márquez’s novel opens up a magical world where the boundaries that separate fantasy and reality, fairy tale and history seem to dissolve naturally. And yet, no fictional work has ever been more deeply grounded in the reality and history of a people. The book tells the incredible story of the Buendía family as it develops through the successive cycles of destruction and rebirth that shape history in the mythical world of Macondo. As the story unfolds it illuminates the wonders and terrors of the history of Latin American countries, the complexities and contradictions that have defined their peoples, and shaped their cultures. In this course we will read enjoy and analyze One Hundred Years of Solitude as well as a selection of García Márquez’s short stories and journalistic works. The works will be discussed within the framework of major theoretical and historical issues and in constant dialogue with a variety of secondary sources.
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