La Hojarasca [Review]

Today I'm here with a review of one of Gabriel García Márquez's novels, though I should warn you that this isn't just any novel, but none other than his debut novel, the work with which he first appeared as a writer. It's also the work in which we first see and get to know Macondo, the town where all the events of One Hundred Years of Solitude would later take place. In Leaf Storm, Macondo is the town inhabited by very colorful characters, some of them downright unpleasant, such as the doctor who arrives years earlier. This doctor is eccentric, and his misanthropy makes us question why he chose such a noble profession. So it's no surprise that this physician has earned the town's contempt, to the point that when he commits suicide, no one wants to bury him. An old colonel offers to take responsibility for the funeral, earning the antipathy of his neighbors.

Hoy vengo por aquí con una reseña de una de las novelas de Gabriel García Márquez, aunque les advierto que no se trata de cualquier novela, sino de nada más y nada menos que su opera prima, la obra con la que debutó como escritor, y además es la obra en la cuál vemos y conocemos por primera vez a Macondo, el pueblo donde más tarde sucederían todos los hechos de Cien Años de Soledad. En La Hojarasca Macondo es el pueblo en el cuál orbitan personajes muy pintorescos y algunos sencillamente desagradables, como el médico que llega años atrás, este médico es excéntrico, y su misantropía nos hace dudas de porqué eligió tan noble profesión para ejercer, así que no es de extrañar que este galeno se haya ganado el desprecio del pueblo, hasta el punto en el que cuando él se suicida nadie quiere sepultarlo, así que un viejo coronel se ofrece a asumir la responsabilidad de las exequias, ganándose la antipatía de sus vecinos.

This book, although different from One Hundred Years of Solitude in many aspects, served as a basis for the author's later works, as it uses many elements that he later "recycled," giving them a very different focus in the plot. For example, we have the doctor's own suicide, something we read about later in Love in the Time of Cholera. We also have Macondo itself, a town in decline, just as in One Hundred Years of Solitude. But in addition to that, we also have the events of the banana company, which represented both progress and destruction for the town. All of this is because these events are somehow linked to the author's life and reality, something that can be perfectly understood after reading his biography. Many of his most famous characters and their respective stories are inspired by members of his family, friends, or acquaintances.

The very title of the book gives us an idea of ​​the town's fate. "Leaf Storm" alludes to autumn, to the beginning of the end, to the desolation that remains after a fruitful period, in this case, the ephemeral boom of the banana company. But progress and prosperity sometimes don't come alone; they are accompanied by greed, corruption, and violence. However, I believe the most beautiful aspect of this novel is that it invites us to reflect on compassion and nobility. Even though the Colonel was part of the town the doctor looked down upon, he never regarded it with rancor or resentment. He was the only one who heeded the Christian call to "Do good without expecting anything in return."

It has a very interesting narrative structure that alternates between different time periods and characters who act as active narrators. In short, I think it's a good read; it's not too long or too short, but rather just the right length.