THE MALAYALIS OF MACONDO

As One Hundred Years of Solitude drops on Netflix this week, TNIE takes a look at Kerala's admiration for Gabriel García Márquez

- KRISHNA P S

IME doesn't flow linearly in Macondo. It's circular, fluid—seven generations of the Buendía family live and eventually disappear off the face of the earth. Time alone bears witness to this magical town by the river, founded by patriarch José Arcadio Buendía, who dreamt of a city of mirrors.

Often regarded as the greatest novel of the 20th century, Gabriel García Márquez's masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude, transforms Macondo into a sprawling character on its own.

José Arcadio Buendía, the patriarch, dreams of a city made of mirrors and embarks on a journey to found Macondo. The only visitors from the outside world were gypsies, who travel to the isolated town once a year, drawn by José's scientific curiosity. It is they who introduce ice to Macondo.