The paradoxical advantage of not knowing a language well: "Cien años de soledad" and me

As part of learning Spanish, I've now memorized the first six sentences of Gabriel García Márquez's "Cien años de soledad" (and I'm working on the seventh). As is my wont, I've even begun doing some literary interpretation of the novel's opening – it's part of the fun. My feel for the nuances of Spanish is limited, of course, but I can still notice patterns to ponder, such as the repetition of "conocer" (to know). In fact, my limited knowledge of the language forces me to pay even closer attention to every detail than I usually do – to the point where my lack of nuanced understanding even feels almost like a paradoxical advantage. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 24 March 2021)