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One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Coming to Netflix


One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Netflix announced today—which just so happens to be Gabriel Garcia Marquez' birthday—the production of a Spanish language series based on Marquez Nobel Prize-winning novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The acclaimed writer was never in favor of adapting his novel for a movie during his lifetime. According to his two sons, both executive producers on the project, his concern was "he couldn't see how a novel about the Buendia family told over many generations could be adapted to the big or small screen." He also worried that producing it in a language other than Spanish would do it justice. Presumably, those concerns are addressed with a series where, as we drone on about, the writers can delve into all the details. And Netflix, as they did with the gorgeous Roma, by producing the material in its original language is doing the acclaimed novel the respect it deserves. What do you think? I'm excited although I've already seen a couple of snarky tweets to the effect that Netflix is bringing every boring book you were forced to read in high school or college to the screen. I say I'm grateful for the wealth of material Netflix is making available, it's like having an in-home video library. And like HBO who delivered Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend in its original Italian, it may not be for everyone but I gobbled it up.



The novel was recently included in PBS Great American Read. But I'll be honest. As brilliant stylistically as Gabriel Garcia Marquez Love in the Time of Cholera is, as I shared in my take on the book, I'm not a fan. 
One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women -- brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul -- this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.
I haven't read One Hundred Years of Solitude but I recognize the genius of Marquez' writing. I think it's time I overcame my aversion and got the acclaimed book under my belt. What do you think? Do you agree with its masterpiece status?