One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This book isn't actually as dull as the title might suggest.  It tells the story of the Buendia family through many generations from the patriarch of the clan who sets off on his own and founds a new village, Macondo, to Aureliano Buendia, who perishes along with the town in a tropical hurricane.  The members of the family tend to be solitary in their personalities and even those who try to connect to others seem to end up on their own.  The characters are often bizarre, the story is outrageous in many aspects, and the behavioral choices of the main characters are baffling.  It reminds me of mythology in that it feels possible and somehow believable in spite of the complete implausibility of it all.  It is actually a very entertaining read.

It has the occasional swear word, although not often. It isn't descriptively immoral, although there are inappropriate situations (a relationship between aunt and nephew, for example) and other subjects that may not be good for younger readers (like a mass murder).

This book took me ages to finish, but that's at least partly because it's summer, and I don't have the time or the inclination to read as much.  It is a long read, though, so be prepared to devote a large amount of time to it.  It is worth it in the end!

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

I made the choice not to read this book, but since it on the Modern Library's list of 100 best books I wanted to include something about it on this blog.  I couldn't find it at my local library, so I looked it up online to see where I could get it.

After seeing some of the information available about it, I decided it wasn't a book I wanted to read.  It was widely considered to be pornographic when it was first published, which I never consider to be a good sign.  The narrative device is a man speaking to his counselor because then the author can say anything with the idea that coarse language and shameful secrets fit in that situation.  (Roth has specifically said that some of his choices would just be "obscene" in any other context, but for me the context doesn't change obscenity into acceptable language.  There was specific mention of detailed descriptions of masturbation including using a piece of liver.)  It is definitely not my scene, so I made the choice to skip this book on my journey through the lists of best books.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

This is a wonderful book.  I don't know how I missed reading it when I was young, but it is still great even when you are older!  It is on the Big Read, which is how I came to be reading it for this review.

It tells the story of Anne (with an e) who is an 11-year-old orphan in Nova Scotia.  She is mistakenly taken to a family who wanted to adopt a boy.  She quickly wins the hearts of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla who take her into their home.  The book tells the story of this imaginative girl and how she grows up to be a woman in their home of Green Gables.

It is a very simple story, but Anne's personality and misadventures are very winning.  The writing is great and will grab your attention.  It is wonderfully clean and appropriate for all ages.  It is definitely worth your time!

The March by E.L. Doctorow

This book tells the story of Sherman's march through the South at the end of the American Civil War.  It is mostly told from the point of view of a few fictional characters, although Sherman himself also features in the story a lot.  We hear a lot from Pearl, a freed slave who is very white like her slave-owner father and Wrede Sartorious, a brilliant army surgeon who seems emotionless in his treatment of the wounded.  We follow the actual marchers and don't hear about the individual cities and the people in them, which is a different point of view for me and one I found interesting.

There is some description of violence (like a man who has a spike blown through his head and continues to live while losing his memory), which isn't as extreme as it could be in a war novel.

I really loved this book.  It is well-written and grabs your attention right away.  The characters are believable and catch your interest.  It is sad that we only hear about the characters while they are part of the march.  Once they quit travelling with Sherman's army, we no longer hear their stories or what happens to them.  It is an interesting narrative tool to restrict the story that way.  It is definitely worth the time.