The Eden-like presence of the town is now completely corrupted. there is no more magic, no more mystery. Macondo has become a city of the world - and terrible things are happening as a result. People are dying, Aureliano Buendia, the new patriarch of the Buendia clan (his father is completely deranged) has left the town to join in the Liberal resistance that is spreading through the country. He doesn't seem to be very passionate about the cause - his reasons for joining the Liberals rather than the Conservatives are slight - yet he proves to be a powerful and infamous military leader.
Personally, I am finding this part of the book less attractive. The wonder of the beginning and the fabled timelessness of it is lost. I feel like the term "magical realism" no longer applies. There is a still a sense of merging the past and the present, a sense of the cyclicality of time, but it doesn't feel so legendary, so folksy, anymore. Now it feels like some kind of South American epic, a hispanic Farewell to Arms.
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ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned on the printout that some years this book is reading for AP Literature--but mostly an option to read together in class because it's HARD to understand.
Your reading choice is impressive, and though it's confusing at times, your commentary about it and questions show that you're getting a great deal from it. That, too, is impressive. Do you take Spanish so that you can easily ask your teacher about it? I look forward to reading more.