Gabriel Garcian Marquez

[meganiwish]

I still remember the time my father took me to see ice.

 

I can only apologise for the magically real typo in the title.

[Bubba136]

And this is important because?

[meganiwish]

Because he was a fine writer whose work tried to define how the Americas weren't just an offshoot of Europe, but something unique forged out of the meeting of cultures.  You should be proud of him, as Americans in the fullest sense.

[Heelster]

Ahh - The Colombian writter. I heard about his death, but I couldn't recall what he wrote. I know some schools made his work required reading. Mine wasn't one of them so I'm not familiar with him.

[ilikekicks]

Because he was a fine writer whose work tried to define how the Americas weren't just an offshoot of Europe, but something unique forged out of the meeting of cultures.  You should be proud of him, as Americans in the fullest sense.

 

He was a *good* writer, but I dont think he realized the full scope of what he was speaking of.

 

The ' Americas ' werent forged out of ' the meeting of cultures ' at all. The ' Americas ' were forged out of desires to be anything but ' Europe ' of the past. a ' Brave new way ' as it was described in some timeline of history.

 

As it is with other ' writers ' or ' Journalists ' , he had his view and not much else outside of it. A narrow-scope from his own point of view which he wrote about in great detail in ways of much superior etiquette. 

[meganiwish]

But America is what it is because two cultures met everywhere.  And by America i don't mean the US, but the continents.  For example. Mexico isn't Nueva Espana, but what was Mexico still lives.

 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez tried to make sense of what it means to be American (in the two continental sense).  I think you chaps should respect him for that.

[ilikekicks]

But America is what it is because two cultures met everywhere.  And by America i don't mean the US, but the continents.  For example. Mexico isn't Nueva Espana, but what was Mexico still lives.

 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez tried to make sense of what it means to be American (in the two continental sense).  I think you chaps should respect him for that.

 

Nueva Espana? Tell that to the Aztecs, Incas and others that go unmentioned..

 

If Marquez wants my respect, he has to earn it, no different then anyone else. Its unfortunate that I CAN appreciate his works, but dont really feel that they should be celebrated as its mostly speculation on his part ( like most ' journalists ' of today ) with tales of grander to put the seams of a ' big picture ' together. The work he has done was done in kind before him and others in the future will do the same thing. Its a cycle.

 

His efforts can be admired but his ' body of work '.. not so much for me.

[manluvheels]

I must admit that I never really could get anything, or much at least, from One Hundred Years of Solitude.

 

Maybe it's because I am "European"? You two, Megan and ILK, have obviously read him in depth, so it would be interesting to get your take on it.

 

Always keen to hear the views from the other side of the Atlantic divide, although you are obviously sceptical of his works ILK.

[Shafted]

I doubt that there are very few people in the US that's even heard of him.

[nyenor]

With reference to #9, there's certainly at least one person in Oz who hasn't - 'lil' ol' me.

[ilikekicks]

I must admit that I never really could get anything, or much at least, from One Hundred Years of Solitude.

 

Maybe it's because I am "European"? You two, Megan and ILK, have obviously read him in depth, so it would be interesting to get your take on it.

 

Always keen to hear the views from the other side of the Atlantic divide, although you are obviously sceptical of his works ILK.

 

Im skeptical of ALL Journalists as the field " in present " really isnt worth a damn. They write what will sell and fill their pockets, ' earning a living ' moreso then putting in an honest writing. For such, they ALL - as in a collective have no credibility until they provide substance through their works.

 

An example I like to use is how MANY people say ( and Ill quote one of them from a site I used to read but have now found unworthy of my time ) " The conversation of climate change is over! were destroying the planet! ". Well.. contrar to all the SPECULATION put forth by all these great minded scientists, last year was one of the best growing seasons the farm I live and WORK on ( daily ). This year is looking even better! Yet were all told by these people whom write these ' educated ' things that its all going badly. We need to be more ' green '. Im a Farmer, how much ' greener ' can I be? When was the last time these brain-children raised a crop and actually put 14hr days, 9 months ( or more ) a year into their ' study ', a study without actual long term ' hands on '. Its surely more credible then a ' sample ' they use as supposed ' proof ' or evidence.

 

How about all those idiots whom said Saddam had chemical weapons? Many people are so narrow minded to hang the whole lie around a selected few peoples necks yet anyone can go to youtube and see EVERYONE saying he had them in the late 90's. My, how the ' journalists ' changed that story.

 

Then theres ' Ethanol '. We have a still here and make our own for use in the equipment and generators. Its WAY less efficient then gasoline and the reason its ' cheaper ' is due to it being subsidized.

 

Look at all the speculation about that Korean airliner that is unaccounted for. Weeks of the ' media ' covering it.. they STILL dont have an answer for what happened. Lotsa hype and guessing, but nobody knows, why make things up like the pilot intentionally crashing the plane? Then there was something about Russia or China shooting it down.. really? Seriously?

 

They need to earn their place, all of them.

 

 

I doubt that there are very few people in the US that's even heard of him.

 

 

I actually heard of him when I was looking into the entity called ' multiculturalism ' and the whole theme of it. A lot of his ideals are just nonsense. There are some that I do agree with, but for the most part, his writings are flavors of his opinion and not much else.

[meganiwish]

Oh dear, I must take you to task.  First, Gabriel Garcia Marquez wasn't primarily a journalist, but a Nobel Prize winning novelist.  Of course, he was asked to write in newspapers, but what he did best was fiction.

 

You're quite right, the germs of magical realism are to be found in Cortes's letters to Charles V, or in the writings of Bernal https://www.google.co.uk/#q=bernal+diaz+del+castillo+historia+verdadera  But it was Marquez who developed it as a genre.  Of course people will write in Marquez's style in the future.  But we wouldn't suggest that Defoe did nothing groundbreaking simply because other novels have been written since.

 

You mention the Aztecs (the word a European coinage, they called themselves the Mexica, which means the people of the Maguey Hare) and the Incas.  Well, Marquez was on their side, and certainly never on the European side.  Indeed, Marquez wrote about and for America.  It's sadly true, I suspect,  what Shafted  says.

 

One Hundred Years of Solitude.  Thank you, manluvheels, I'm glad you asked.  I'd say it was a novel about human life, human foolishness, American history and  mistaken perception.  I'll take them in turn.  (Oh dear, I seem to have lent both my Spanish and English copy to my daughter, so I'm relying on my memory, so some quotes might not be quite verbatim.)

 

The first thing I think of is something my beloved Big Bro once said to me.  I was worried about something, and he said that all I needed to know was that in 100 years there'd be a whole new set of people on the earth.  This is without doubt one of the themes of the book.  It's stepping on from three score years and ten,but certainly our lives can be seen in the 100 years we filled part of.  My daddy was part of a different world than I know, and my grandparents all the more so.  Now, the bit in the book is the young girl who dies and remains only as a daguerrotype (have you ever seen a daguerrotype?They're fabulous) but is still known as Great Aunt ...

 

So human foolishness, well, obviously you have Jose Arcadio, seeking ever new ways to make gold, to the destruction of his family, if Ursula hadn't stepped in and chained him to the tree.  And Melquiades represents the human dislike of listening to common sense.  (In fact, Melquiades is a modern Sancho Panza, as is Woody in Toy Story.)  But so much foolishness -  when the fair takes over, the banana company, all obsessive madnesses, but short lived.  He is, of course talking about the way multi-nationalist capitalists have exploited America.  (You'll have to forgive me, I'm deliberately using America in its Latin sense, no offence intended.  But the US is included.)

 

American history.  In the novel, all the wars for independence.  Well, no freedom was ever won.  In particular, one needs to think of Colonel Aureliano Buendias. As a reader you want him to stay alive, but there's no reason why he should, and later he dies of old age.  But what leads him to the firing squad is his standing up for liberty.  At this point, I'll remind you that it's set post colonial.  There's no European devil here.

 

Misperception, which is the real point of the novel.  Here's my misquote:  'Years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendias would remember the day his father took him to see ice.'  Well, he faced the firing squad but (spoiler alert) he's never shot.  The opening line of the novel.  It's telling you that you can't trust what comes next, and this is History, any History is unreliable, because it's made up of memories.

 

Oh dear, I'd like to tell you about the butterflies, but it's got too late.

 

Shafted and nyenor, GIYF.  He was a Nobel Laureat.  Chaps, please don't wear ignorance as a badge of pride.

[jdmonto]

I haven't read 100 years of solitude, but u have enjoyed other books by him, particularly of love and other demons and patriarchs fall. He had an interesting stile, not my favorite but worth reading for sure

[nyenor]

Megan. I was not 'wearing ignorance as a badge of pride' as you put it. I was simply stating the fact that I had never heard of the guy.

[Shafted]

Megan. I was not 'wearing ignorance as a badge of pride' as you put it. I was simply stating the fact that I had never heard of the guy.

Ditto. Everyone has to be ignorant about something, otherwise they are just a "know it all".

[SF]

never liked his stuff  ---  couldn't really get into it…..  sorry

[meganiwish]

Ditto. Everyone has to be ignorant about something, otherwise they are just a "know it all".

 

Megan. I was not 'wearing ignorance as a badge of pride' as you put it. I was simply stating the fact that I had never heard of the guy.

No offence intended.  I misread your tone.

[ilikekicks]

Megan.. you cede my point when you stated this -->

 

"Oh dear, I must take you to task.  First, Gabriel Garcia Marquez wasn't primarily a journalist, but a Nobel Prize winning novelist.  Of course, he was asked to write in newspapers, but what he did best was fiction."

 

A Nobel Prize is presently worthless IMO. They are handed out for very strict ' political ' reasons.

 

Mandela and King both put their lives on the line and stood their ground. They fought valiantly and stood for many. Obama did what before being recognized and awarded? Woodrow Wilson, the guy whom I can directly stipulate having a hand in destroying the global economy from the grave, what great feats did he accomplish? OH YEAH! He went against the will of the people of his nation and tried to get the U.N. established ( League of Nations prior ) and sell-out his own nations republic. 

 

The ' Nobel Organization ' itself only tells half the story, the side THEY wish to be the truth. Heres an example :

 

The Vietnam Conflict (1959-1975), was fought between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the United States-supported Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Southern and American forces were defeated and the war ended with unification of Vietnam under the communist government of the North.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/facts/peace/

 

Theres no mention at all of the French and their Colonialism/Occupation starting the conflict. Its all About ' evil America ' and how they ' lost the war ' in the total ' Worldview ' of everything.

 

A very slanted organization to say the least.

 

In 1955, the U.S. was in Korea, Not Vietnam. Theres thousands of gravestones in my nation to prove such but the ' Nobel Organization ' wont let those sacrifices get in the way of THEIR version of whos worthy of what.

 

To get to the point, Toilet paper is more useful then a ' Nobel Prize ' for anything these days.

 

Bono from the Group U2 has done more humanitarian work in the last 2 decades then many of the politicians they have laid a ' peace ' award to.. yet hes not awarded? Why? 

 

The gentleman we are speaking of is a relative ' nobody ' which in most instances is the greatest thing of all. Not being in the limelight or centerstage of scrutiny.

 

The problem with a lot of his work is as you have mentioned : Historical writings and fictional pieces. Its tough to discern ( in some instances ) which is being put forth from him.

[meganiwish]

Oh, without doubt I'd agree with you about the Peace Prize, but Marquez was a Literature Laureate.  I make no claim that the Nobel Prize is worth anything of itself, but it does imply that the 'nobody' stood large in the world of literature.  Now, we'll all have our own opinion as to how important literature is, each as valid as the other, but there's never anything to be gained from ranking incomparable people in importance.

 

I think you'll find that elsewhere on this site I've written that I believe every war since the 1850s has been the result of European colonialism.  Even today's conflicts are rumblings of the empires tearing themselve's apart.  It's plain, then, that I know the Vietnam War grew out of the Vietnamese struggle for independence from the French.  I'm not old enough to be your grandmother, but I'd still rather not be taught to suck eggs

 

One of Marquez's main themes (in his fiction) is the unreliability of history, and he's most clear throughout on the treachery and self interest of  politicians.  I'd have thought you'd have got on fine.

 

Anyway, a chap who wrote some books I've enjoyed reading died and I just wanted to mark it.