Mar
28
Comparison: Post 12
Posted by: | March 28, 2010 | Comments Off on Comparison: Post 12
Lets see when I compare all three books…. Well, out of them all, I enjoyed Cien Años de Soledad the most, primarily because the story it tells is the most personal, therefore sucks the reader in. As the reader you feel for the Buendia’s and become enthralled in their twisted misery. The other books, although I also liked them, are more anthropological and historical, thus not as easy to get swept up in them.
Lets see, I know I am not throwing anything new out when I say all three incorporate magical elements into their stories… magic realism (or lo real maravilloso)! But they all find ways that these unimaginable, impossible events take away the trust the reader has in the narrator or his credibility. It is either incorporated into the story as something ordinary like in CAS or El Reino or like in Leyendas, Asturias includes impersonal phrases before these events like “It is believed that..”
In all three a struggle between religions exist. In CAS there are many references to the bible, and whether Marquez is critiquing Catholicism it is unclear to me. In Leyendas and El Rein there is battle between Christianity and maya-quiche or African religion.
In terms of authors I have question hw genuine their motives were, and this is not to discredit their literature at all because I actually did really enjoy them and thought they were very well written. What I mean though, is are these book that truly want to revitalize Latin American people and culture. I see these books written for a European audience, therefore exoticizing L. America is inevitable and defeating that initial aim. Honestly authors turning their attention to L. America during the 1930’s seems trendy, but actually in all seriousness, and as one of my source for the Wiki project points this movement comes at a convenient time, right after the WWI where L. America could help revitalize the economy. Also magic realism seems stem directly from surrealism.
But all aside I found all three books to very creative. In terms of messages I liked El Reino. I like the idea that utopia does not exist, but regardless we must keep struggling a bit dark but all too true.
