I Was Too Stupid for Cien Años de Soledad

I’ll be honest, the title is a bit of an exaggeration. Nobody’s ever too stupid for Cien Años de Soledad, but it’s true that the novel is daunting to approach… Though Netflix’s recent adaptation might just change that. It did for me, at least. Not only is the show a spectacular watch, it makes the literary masterpiece it's based on far more approachable for the less literarily inclined. Now that might seem unimportant - does a book from 1967 really matter that much? But I’d argue that it’s more relevant to modern life than most might think.

Something you probably don't know about me is that I studied Spanish in university. I even lived in Spain for about a year. So by all accounts, I should have read Cien Años de Soledad, right? Well, unfortunately, no. As much as I Spanish and Latin American literature (if you haven't read Julio Cortázar’s Axolotl, you really should), longer novels like Cien Años de Soledad have always been a bit too much for me to handle.

I'm sure that some of you reading this can empathise with me, even if you've never studied a foreign language before. It’s like reading Shakespeare - worthwhile, but still a bit of a slog. Add to that the difficulty of a foreign language and, well, there's a reason so many people only know the SparkNotes version of classics. It’s a shame, though, that works of such cultural importance is reduced to something that doesn’t capture even 10% of its artistic value, though. If only it were more accessible…

But of course, like I said before, Netflix might have finally achieved that.

See, where before I couldn’t even conceive of reading Cien Años de Soledad (seriously, having two characters named José Arcadio AND ALSO an Arcadio, an Aureliano José, and an Aureliano is a bit cruel), Netflix’s new adaptation provided me with enough grounding and context that I feel like I can handle the novel now. While the show is only half-done at this point and has no doubt left out many details, I at least have a vague grasp of the characters and plot. Where before the novel would have been terrifying to begin, knowing what to expect has given me much the confidence I needed.

Not only that, the show has made me excited to read the book, because oh my god it’s so good. The visuals are stunning and the pacing blows me away - that they’re able to cover so much without anything feeling too rushed is honestly a miracle. But that’s not it’s greatest achievement in my eyes. For me, its greatest achievement is bringing magical realism to a wider audience, not only reminding people of how interesting it can be but also how relevant it is.

In my opinion, the best part of magical realism is the atmosphere it creates, where incomprehensible and sometimes even vaguely horrifying things happen and yet life just goes on. Cien Años de Soledad’s insomnia plague, for example. Those infected forget everything, even their loved ones, and yet everything goes back to normal after it's cured. Life goes on.

And that’s the exact reason magical realism resonates with me. It reflects a subtle, slightly terrifying truth of human existence : things will happen, things you can’t even comprehend, and then you’ll just keep living. How many of us know how social media is coded? How many of us really know the way computers work, even? Yet they’re huge parts of our lives, able to manipulate us and even affect our politics - and don’t even get me started on AI. We just accept it.

Magical realism is the perfect way to explore the uncertain and incomprehensible world that we have live in. It’s not horror exactly, but rather the discomfort that comes with the uncanny. I can only hope that Netflix’s adaptation can introduce people to the genre and maybe even provide the framework and motivation they need to actually go and read the original works. There’s so much potential for the exploration and expression of the contemporary human experience just waiting to be discovered.

If you ask me, the Cien Años de Soledad show should be required material for Spanish-language students moving forward, if not students in general. It’s better that people watch an adaptation than never read the novel at all. If the show is what it takes to introduce a classic to people who won’t ever read it, who might never even heard of it, then I think it’s even a great social good. It might even inspire a few lazy people like me to read it. But even if it doesn’t, it’s a hell of a good show.

So yeah, I was too stupid for Cien Años de Soledad - but thanks to the show, I’m not anymore, and hopefully I won't be the only one.