The Magic of One Hundred Years of Solitude The mystical city of Mocondo brings new hope, imagination, and an endless rush to the people who live there. Jose Arcadio Buendia, the main character of One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, desires a life of magic and new discoveries, so in his search he discovers the city of Mocondo. "...A village of twenty mud brick houses, built on the bank of a river with clear water that flowed along a bed of smooth, white and enormous stones, like prehistoric eggs" (1). He watches the rise and fall of his city over the course of nearly a hundred years before he dies. The city sees everything from gypsies and their surprising discoveries to war and its aftermath. All of the many characters are anything but normal, from having seventeen children to being born with a pig's tail. Marquez lets the reader's imagination run wild with all the strange things that happen, with his writing style... magical realism. As a child, it is very easy to have imagination and it doesn't seem like a difficult task to imagine flying carpets and men with two heads; but as a person gets older this imagination seems to pack up its bags and walk out the door. Even if with Marquez's book the imagination returns to ask for more. It's hard to separate the real from the fantasy in his book as he blends things together so well. An excellent example is found on page twenty-two:...he was born...with a cartilaginous corkscrew-shaped tail and a small tuft of hair at the tip. Apig's tail which was never allowed to be seen by any woman and which cost him his life when a butcher friend did the... middle of paper... happen to him. This happened, although, not so quickly… the cow gave birth to triplets two months later. This started to become a trend for any type of animal they bought or already owned. Their barn was overflowing and was extremely difficult to keep under control. This was good for them though, as they became rich by selling their livestock, without any problems. Somehow, in the four hundred and forty-eight pages of this book, the author continues to feed the imagination without padding any aspect. He writes so well that once a person starts getting involved in the story, there is no going back. Even if a person thinks they have no help in repairing the creative side of the brain, there is hope with One Hundred Years of Solitude. Bibliography Marquez, Gabriel G. One Hundred Years of Solitude. Argentina: Editorial Sudamericanos, 1967.