Previously reviewed: 2 August 2017
Rating: 2/5

It’s time to jump into another throwback book review, turning our attention to one of the most—if not the most—difficult books I have read.

And before I get too far into it, please excuse the condition this book is in. I believe there was an unfortunate accident on a train that involved a sudden stop and someone falling over (aka. me), resulting in the front being torn.

Originally titled Cien Años de Soledad, Gabriel García Márquez’s book was one I picked up as part of one of my university subjects to read, analyse and produce a literary analysis essay on.

What began as a challenge I thrust upon myself turned into quite the journey, and it is burned in my mind as a book that introduced me to the world of magical realism, and a text I will never pick up and read again.

So, this is the perfect throwback book review as I get to look back and relive my trauma while sharing it with you.

​Before I get into it, I do also want to note that this is one of those historically significant books that has huge depth, and there is every chance I’m going to analyse or refer to something incorrectly due to the time that has passed since I read this book. I apologise in advance if I refer to something incorrectly.
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Now, Let’s get into it.

Finished reading: 24 June 2024
Rating: 4/5

You ever wonder about a world where people get really sick, and so healthy people cut themselves off from the sick and isolate to stay healthy? What if there were like… time limits where a person exposed to an illness had to isolate away from the healthy to make sure they didn’t have the sickness, and then they could mingle with the healthy?

I guess most of us don’t have to wonder, but here’s the thing… I’m not talking about that pandemic we had in the haze of 2020-2022. I’m talking about the plague.

The Last Hours by Minette Walters is the first book in the Black Death series and explores a group of people of Develish who, through the choices and leadership of the Lady of the demesne, isolate themselves to not become ill with the plague. And, let me tell you, this is a great book to read after the pandemic.