Surprises shrouded in a character maze

This book holds endless twists but the 2 biggest ones so far for me were the reversal of characters of the first Aureliano (Colonel) and his sister Amaranta. Who would have thought that the reticent Aureliano could wage so many wars and cause so much destruction? The boy who spent all day in the lab doing god-knows-what traveled the ends of the earth culminating in somewhat of a legend with his died-alive-reborn stories. The lad with no ambition except the life the lab afforded him and ended up being the leader of a brutal armed rebellion.

And Amaranta on the other hand? Wow, talk about ego! She loved playing with the feelings of men didn't she? Poor Crespi ended up giving his life not able to bear the shame of being rejected by 2 women from the same family. Amaranta who swore to not let the wedding take place between Crespi and Rebeca not only came good on her promise but also left Crespi to rot like a forlorn lover. A simple woman who seemed never wanted anything else except love is so far away from it. The black band in her hand a constant reminder of the white gown she could never wear.

What has kept me hooked on the book is the constant introduction of new characters with unimaginable freshness of attitudes. I must admit I was frustrated on more than one occassion with not being able to remember the characters or their history (esp. Aureliano's 17 sons!) but perhaps the essence of the book is its ability to do just that and that of the reader is to go with the flow. So going with the flow I am! How far am I? Well, I'm still within reach (my deadline is 11.59 pm 8/29). I'm more than half way done. Why such slow progress? I have a job, you know.

Anyway, I go back to the magical land of Macondo but I must quote my most favorite part yet. A snippet from a conversation between Col. Aureliano Buendia and Col. Gerineldo Marquez. Col. Aureliano Buendia goes--

"Tell me something, old friend: why are you fighting?"

"What other reason could there be?" Colonel Gerineldo Marquez answered. "For the great Liberal party."

"You're lucky because you know why," he answered. "As far as I'm concerned, I've come to realize only just now that I'm fighting because of pride."

"That's bad," Colonel Gerineldo Marquez said.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia was amused at his alarm. "Naturally", he said. "But in any case, it's better than not knowing why you're fighting." He looked him in the eyes and added with a smile:

"Or fighting, like you, for something that doesn't have any meaning for anyone."