Book 0058
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Donated by Tim Mitchell, who says...
It completely blew my mind.
It changed my view of the world – almost literally – like wearing a new pair of glasses.
It taught me to appreciate the magic that exists in the everyday.
It taught me that nothing lasts forever and that situations will come and go. This was news to a teenager who had believed that so much in life was permanent or unchangeable.
It taught me to appreciate what you have, while you have it.
It’s the only book I’ve read twice.
As soon as I finished it, I went straight back to the beginning.
It was almost like being in Márquez’s enchanted world when I came across this wonderful book in the most unexpected way. One Saturday afternoon, while I was heading into London via my commuting route in autopilot mode, I suddenly found myself lost in a cargo container discovering people’s thoughts on their favourite books, then “walked a mile” in Elaine White’s shoes sharing her day as a florist. Both are such fantastic ideas from the Empathy Museum!
Tim’s words on how the book taught him to appreciate the magic that exists in every day life instantly drew me to One Hundred Years of Solitude. I loved the book; it’s dreamlike world, the recurring wild and irresponsible choices, the whimsical cloud of yellow butterflies, the trickle of fresh blood that came under the door, and the way one eventually finds comfort and peace in their simple daily routines.
This is one of several passages that resonated with me, “wherever they might be they always remember that the past was a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end.”
I am sharing this book with a friend who makes me laugh – someone who definitely brought a little magic to my day to day life.