Mar
28
Los tres libros
Posted by: | March 28, 2010 | Comments Off on Los tres libros
In comparing the works we read this term, the first thing that comes to mind is each book’s readability and our analysis of each. This blog entry is my analysis of the texts from the perspective of the reader. I found Cien anos de soledad to be the easiest to read as well as the easiest to deconstruct. While many works within the realm of magical realism can be tough to follow, understand and truly appreciate, I found CADS to be the most accessible. It may be that it is the most recent, the most similar in syntax to other books that I’ve read, and most obvious but still important, it is a novel. Leyendas is a compilation of cuentos. Reino de este mundo may be called a historical and anthropological account of the Haitian revolution. While the detail of structure may seem trivial, it plays an important role in how the book reads and what the author is able to achieve.
Leyendas de Guatemala was probably the toughest to read and the toughest to deconstruct. Given its structure, it never achieves the intuitive flow of the other books. It seems abstract, lacks fluidity, cohesion and intuitive structure. For a layperson reader and those without further instruction, Leyendas seems tough to follow, tough to know what Asturias is getting at, and to understand why each tales is important. However, given its aim, it achieves what the author intends: it tells the tales of Latin America, from the epic to the minimal. Each tale aids to weave a strange web of stories of ancient and recent times. Asturias is able to show diversity, depth and splendor in Latin American culture, though he does in a manner that is not easily accessible.
El reino de este mundo is a more intuitive text, though can seem abstract and tough to guage. It jumps through time, between people, between class and between race. It gives a deep look into the Hatian revolution from the perspective of the colonials and of the slaves. I found this book interesting, though not compelling nor exoteric. Again, further instruction aided my understanding of Carpentier’s intentions and achievements.
Cien anos de soledad was my favourite of the books, it was the easiest to follow, the most intuitive to deconstruct, though it was not very enjoyable to read. I found the novel fascinating at some points, riveting at others, but dry and boring for the most part. It is riddled with pages of what seems like trivial details and plot points. Simply reading through it, keeping up with who is who, and how things are connected was an exhausting task. However, after a bit of guidance of where to look and on what to focus, Marquez’s genius is revealed. His creation of Macondo and the Buendia family is truly astounding. Its no wonder the guy won a Nobel prize.
While each of these texts differ in readability and accessibility, they all, arguably, make up Latin American of magical realism. This style of writing isn’t necessarily meant to be accessible, intuitive and easy to read. It is supposed to be simple and sublime, to be real and fantastic at the same time. In this way it displays the marvel that is our world and the genius of human imagination.
