Why should you read "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? - Francisco Díez-Buzo

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Klavdija Černilogar Dwyer

One day in 1965, while driving to Acapulco for a vacation with his family,

Nekega dne leta 1965 je med vožnjo v Acapulco na počitnice z družino

Colombian journalist Gabriel García Márquez abruptly turned his car around,

kolumbijski novinar Gabriel García Márquez nenadoma obrnil svoj avto,

asked his wife to take care of the family’s finances for the coming months,

prosil ženo, naj naslednjih nekaj mesecev prevzame družinske finance

and returned home.

in se vrnil domov.

The beginning of a new book had suddenly come to him:

Nenadoma je dobil zamisel za začetek svoje nove knjige:

“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad,

"Mnogo let kasneje, ko je stal pred strelnim vodom,

Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon

se je polkovnik Aureliano Buendía spomnil daljnega popoldneva,

when his father took him to discover ice.”

ko ga je oče odpeljal odkrit led."

Over the next eighteen months,

V naslednjih osemnajstih mesecih

those words would blossom into One Hundred Years of Solitude.

so te besede vzcvetele v Sto let samote.

A novel that would go on to bring Latin American literature

Roman, ki je južnoameriško literaturo ponesel

to the forefront of the global imagination,

v prve vrste globalne domišljije,

earning García Márquez the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature.

in Garcii Marquezu prislužil Nobelovo nagrado za literaturo leta 1982.

What makes One Hundred Years of Solitude so remarkable?

In zakaj je knjiga 100 let samote tako pomembna?

The novel chronicles the fortunes and misfortunes

Ta roman opisuje zgode in nezgode

of the Buendía family over seven generations.

družine Buendía skozi sedem generacij.

With its lush, detailed sentences,

Z bogatimi, detajlov polnimi stavki,

large cast of characters,

veliko skupino literarnih oseb

and tangled narrative,

in zapleteno zgodbo

One Hundred Years of Solitude is not an easy book to read.

Sto let samote ni lahko branje.

But it’s a deeply rewarding one,

Je pa neverjetno zadovoljujoče,

with an epic assortment of intense romances,

z epskim izborom intenzivnih romanc,

civil war,

z državljansko vojno,

political intrigue,

političnimi spletkami,

globe-trotting adventurers,

pustolovščinami po vsem svetu,

and more characters named Aureliano than you’d think possible.

in z več osebami po imenu Aureliano, kot si lahko predstavljate.

Yet this is no mere historical drama.

A vseeno, to ni navadna zgodovinska drama.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of the most famous examples

Sto let samote je eden izmed najbolj znanih primerov

of a literary genre known as magical realism.

literarnega žanra po imenu magični realizem.

Here, supernatural events or abilities

Tukaj so nadnaravni dogodki ali sposobnosti

are described in a realistic and matter-of-fact tone,

opisani v realističnem tonu,

while the real events of human life and history

medtem ko se resnični dogodki iz življenja in zgodovine

reveal themselves to be full of fantastical absurdity.

razkrijejo kot polni fantazijske absurdnosti.

Surreal phenomena within the fictional village of Macondo

Nadnaravni fenomeni v izmišljeni vasici Macondo

intertwine seamlessly with events taking place in the real country of Colombia.

se gladko prepletajo z dogodki, ki so se zares zgodili v Kolumbiji.

The settlement begins in a mythical state of isolation,

Naselbina se začne v mitskem stanju izolacije,

but is gradually exposed to the outside world,

a je postopoma izpostavljena zunanjemu svetu

facing multiple calamities along the way.

in se zraven spopada z mnogimi nesrečami.

As years pass, characters grow old and die,

Ko leta minevajo, osebe ostarijo in umrejo

only to return as ghosts,

in se nato vrnejo kot duhovi

or to be seemingly reincarnated in the next generation.

ali pa se zdi, da so se reinkarnirali v naslednji generaciji.

When the American fruit company comes to town,

Ko pride v mesto ameriško sadjarsko podjetje,

so does a romantic mechanic who is always followed by yellow butterflies.

pride z njim romantični mehanik, ki mu vedno sledijo rumeni metulji.

A young woman up and floats away.

Mlada ženska se dvigne v zrak in odleti.

Although the novel moves forward through subsequent generations,

Čeprav se roman premika skozi generacije,

time moves in an almost cyclical manner.

se čas premika na skoraj cikličen način.

Many characters have similar names and features to their forebears,

Mnoge osebe imajo podobna imena in lastnosti svojih prednikov,

whose mistakes they often repeat.

katerih napake pogosto ponavljajo.

Strange prophecies and visits from mysterious gypsies

Čudne prerokbe in obiski skrivnostnih ciganov

give way to the skirmishes and firing squads of repeated civil wars.

se nato umaknejo bitkam in strelskim vodom v ponavljajočih se državnih vojnah.

An American fruit company opens a plantation near the village

Ameriško sadjarsko podjetje blizu vasi odpre plantažo

and ends up massacring thousands of striking workers,

in pobije na tisoče stavkajočih delavcev,

mirroring the real-life ‘Banana Massacre’ of 1928.

podobno kot v resničnem "banana pokolu" leta 1928.

Combined with the novel’s magical realism,

Skupaj z magičnim realizmom v romanu

this produces a sense of history as a downward spiral

to ustvari občutek zgodovine kot spiralnega padca,

the characters seem powerless to escape.

ki mu karakterji ne morejo ubežati.

Beneath the magic is a story about the pattern of Colombian

Pod magijo je zgodba o vzorcu kolumbijske

and Latin American history from colonial times onward.

in latinskoameriške zgodovine od kolonialnih časov naprej.

This is a history that the author experienced firsthand.

To je zgodovina, ki jo je izkusil avtor osebno.

Gabriel García Márquez grew up in a Colombia torn apart by civil conflict

García Márquez je odrasel v Kolumbiji, razdvojeni od državljanskega konflikta

between its Conservative and Liberal political parties.

med konzervativno in liberalno politično stranko.

He also lived in an autocratic Mexico

Prav tako je živel v avtokratski Mehiki

and covered the 1958 Venezuelan coup d’état as a journalist.

in kot novinar poročal o državnem udaru leta 1958 v Venezueli.

But perhaps his biggest influences were his maternal grandparents.

A morda so bili njegov največji vpliv stari starši po materini strani.

Nicolás Ricardo Márquez was a decorated veteran of the Thousand Days War

Nicolás Ricardo Márquez je bil odlikovani veteran tisočdnevne vojne,

whose accounts of the rebellion against Colombia's conservative government

čigar opisi upora proti kolumbijski konzervativni vladi

led Gabriel García Márquez to a socialist outlook.

so Garcío Márqueza pripeljali do socialističnega pogleda na svet.

Meanwhile, Doña Tranquilina Iguarán Cotes’ omnipresent superstition

Medtem pa je vseprisotno vraževerje Doñe Tranquiline Iguarán Cotes

became the foundation of One Hundred Years of Solitude’s style.

postalo osnova za stil v Sto let samote.

Their small house in Aracataca where the author spent his childhood

Njihova majhna hiša v Arakataki, kjer je avtor preživel otroštvo,

formed the main inspiration for Macondo.

je bila glavni navdih za Macondo.

With One Hundred Years of Solitude,

S Sto let samote

Gabriel García Márquez found a unique way

je Gabriel García Márquez našel edinstven način

to capture the unique history of Latin America.

za prikaz edinstvene zgodovine Latinske Amerike.

He was able to depict the strange reality of living in a post-colonial society,

Uspel je zajeti čudno realnost življenja v postkolonialni družbi,

forced to relive the tragedies of the past.

ki je prisiljena, da ponovno doživi tragedije preteklosti.

In spite of all this fatalism, the novel still holds hope.

Kljub vsemu temu fatalizmu, je roman poln upanja.

At his Nobel Lecture,

V svojem Nobelovem nagovoru

García Marquez reflected on Latin America’s long history

se je García Marquez spomnil na dolgo zgodovino Latinske Amerike,

of civil strife and rampant iniquity.

polno državljanskih konfliktov in neobladljive nepravičnosti.

Yet he ended the speech by affirming the possibility of building a better world,

A vseeno je govor končal s tezo, da je mogoče zgraditi boljši svet,

to quote, “where no one will be able to decide for others how they die,

če citiramo: "Ko ne bo nihče mogel odločati, kako naj umre nekdo drug,

where love will prove true

ko bo ljubezen prava

and happiness be possible,

in sreča možna

and where the races condemned to one hundred years of solitude

in ko bodo rase, obsojene na sto let samote,

will have, at last and forever, a second chance on earth."

imele, končno in za vedno, drugo možnost na Zemlji."