Plot+Summary

In One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez constructs the epic tale of one extraordinary family trying to survive the storms of love, war, and nature in their beloved village of Macondo. Jose Arcadio Buendia founded the town with a vision of utopic happiness and prosperity. Sadly, the history of the Buendia's is not a victory but a tragedy. The sons and daughters of Jose Arcadio Buendia exhibit every possible human (even superhuman) trait, every possible color of the personality palate; they are brave, beautiful, tyrannical, insane, lustful, solitary, passionate, mournful, rebellious, and fierce. A father searches for success as a famous inventor. One of his sons runs away with a gypsy, another becomes a revolutionary war hero. Sisters compete for love. Nephew and aunt restrain an incestuous relationship. A beautiful daughter unknowingly kills dozens of men. Twin brothers are switched as birth. A wasteful son is murdered in his own bath. The plot's twists, turns, loops, and drops never fail to surprise, to invoke emotions of pride and grief, to provoke questions of what is reality and what is not? Generations pass. A son of Buendia discovers an ancient message from an old gypsy friend and uncovers the prophecy of their family, the tragic destiny of Jose Arcadio Buendia's children. "The first in line is tied to a tree and the last is eaten by ants."