Hi all, the title says it all. I'm reading 100 Years of Solitude hot on the heels of reading Pedro Páramo. So far, I am somewhat cool on the former, finding it somewhat unresonant having just read Pedro Páramo, which made such an impression on me that I immediately re-read it after finishing it.
I do appreciate 100 Years of Solitude's fabulistic elements and general trappings of magical realism, but on the whole, I'm finding it to be a bit kooky/zany for my taste. On the other hand, Pedro Páramo's gravity, unflinching darkness, and formal intricacy really hit the spot for me right out of the gates, especially interwoven with the aspects of 100 Years of Solitude that I am enjoying. Can someone recommend some similar reading? I'm admittedly under-read with Latin American literature in general, but Pedro Páramo, Bolaño's 2666, and Borges' work in general count among some of my favorite readings.
(Don't worry, I do intend to finish 100 Years of Solitude… I'm just trying to get something on deck for when I do.)
Thanks in advance.
by zuckerzeit
4 Comments
I haven’t finished it yet, but 2666 met the same vibes for me.
As did the chronicles of a death foretold.
Nefando by Monica Ojeda scratched a similar itch, but it’s not for the faint of heart, check trigger warnings.
Our share of night by Mariana Enriquez I think that’ll give you what you’re looking for. Set during and after Argentina’s authoritarian period and the supernatural threats mirror the real ones
Maybe try Mario Vargas Llosa’s *The War of the End of the World*. It’s sort of magic realism.. kind of… but one of my desert-island picks.
(PS – I got more and more into OHDOS as it went on. Had to work at the start, but loved it by the end. And really, I think its worth doing some reading about the book even before you read it.)
Aura by Carlos Fuentes