Love in the Time of Cholera

Jan 07, 2008 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I feel suspicious about the fact that I didn't fall for this book the way Florentino Ariza fell for Fermina Daza. I am compelled to blame my lack of appreciation on poor reader comprehension rather than GGM'S writing, because only one of us won the nobel prize and I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. However, I'm no idiot either, so I'll at least take the liberty to explain my grievances:

1. As a synesthete, I found Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza's names to be WAY too similar. They look the same; I...more I feel suspicious about the fact that I didn't fall for this book the way Florentino Ariza fell for Fermina Daza. I am compelled to blame my lack of appreciation on poor reader comprehension rather than GGM'S writing, because only one of us won the nobel prize and I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. However, I'm no idiot either, so I'll at least take the liberty to explain my grievances:

1. As a synesthete, I found Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza's names to be WAY too similar. They look the same; I kept getting them mixed up! I think it was unecessary to pick the two most F, vowel, R, N and Z laden names ever for use in this one story.

2. The narrator kept making very definitive, bold claims that 3 pages later turned out to be completely untrue. For example (not real quotes) "This particular bed-fellow was the closest thing to love that Florentino Ariza ever experienced apart from Fermina Daza." Turn the page, now talking about a brand new lover, "Now, as it turns out, THIS particular bed-fellow was actually the closest things to love that FA experienced apart from FD." Next chapter, another new lover "Okay, SERIOUSLY, this is the one this time"... etc. Similar broken promises were made about various other topics. Perhaps this was done on purpose to demonstrate the fickle nature of life or love or something like that, but for me all it did was make me yell at the pages, scolding the narrator for being a big liar.

3. Florentino Ariza = mid 70's, Young Girl placed in his "care"= 14. It's just not okay. (P.s. She later kills herself because he ruined her life and stole her innocence, and his only reaction to it is that he has a bout of indigestion while lying in bed with the woman he left her for...what a swell guy). P.s. he also kinda kills another woman...the one on whose stomach he writes with red paint and her husband murders her when he sees it.

4. The whole premise of the book is the waiting...FA is waiting to finally be with FD. And when the wait is over, I don't feel like there's any reward. Nothing between them is all that magical...yeah they have fun on the boat, sure the fun is a little subdued because of their age, etc...but ultimately I don't understand what the point of all that waiting was for when he seems to have just about as much a connection with FD as he had with any of the other 621 ladies over the years. I dunno...as I stated in point #2, the ABSOLUTENESS of this book is what really holds it back for me. He says he absolutely loves FD, better than the rest, into eternity...he says this, but the reality is actually quite different. The ending is the same kind of thing...is that boat really going to sail up and down the river FOREVER? No. It's not. So why cheapen it with the gross exaggeration...just say "until we die" or "until somebody makes us stop"... it doesn't sound as cool but it means more.

In summation, it wasn't a horrible book but there were a few things that made it less than perfect. The writing really redeemed it, however, and made the experience pleasurable overall. An example of this is the detail GGM throws in about Urbino drinking chamomile tea, any then rejecting it, saying that it tastes like windows. Everyone is perplexed, thinking he must be crazy. Then they taste it themselves: Yup. Windows.
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Oct 05, 2007 Samantha Newman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I previously read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and I liked it a lot, and I was intruiged by the title "Love in the Time of Cholera" so I thought I'd read it.

Within the first few pages I had the inkling I didn't like it, but sometimes it takes books a little while to get warmed up. Plus, I don't like starting a book and not finishing it, because I know I'll never go back to a book I stopped reading because I didn't like it, and if I stop reading it, I'll never know if I would have liked the re...more I previously read "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and I liked it a lot, and I was intruiged by the title "Love in the Time of Cholera" so I thought I'd read it.

Within the first few pages I had the inkling I didn't like it, but sometimes it takes books a little while to get warmed up. Plus, I don't like starting a book and not finishing it, because I know I'll never go back to a book I stopped reading because I didn't like it, and if I stop reading it, I'll never know if I would have liked the rest of it. So I forged ahead and completed the whole book.

First off, the magical realism that made "100 yrs. of Solitude" so gripping was not as prevalent in "Cholera." I actually only saw it a few times in the entire novel, unless it was so well-done that it was just perfectly woven into the book and I didn't notice. I doubt that though...but this was easy to get over; I mean, it's a different book, so it was bound to be, well, different from "100...Solitude."

But I guess my conservative / religious side was riled up by the rest of the book. It portrays everyone as being incredibly sex-oriented. Men, women, everyone. And not "morally" so, if you know what I mean. Everyone sleeps around, while married and while unmarried. And the tone of the book seemed to be saying that that's expected - quite frankly, like the more sex a person has, most of the time with the more people, the more normal and in some ways the more gifted they are. I'm generalizing quite a bit, not getting into the specifics of the story and my reactions to them, however.

Now this book is on Oprah's book club list and she said it's "the greatest love story" she's ever heard. Alright...if a good love story equals someone "waiting" for their true love, where waiting means having sex with everything that moves. And now they're making a movie. The tag says "Florentino, rejected by the beautiful Fermina at a young age, devotes much of his adult life to carnal affairs as a desperate attempt to heal his broken heart." ?? I guess I can see how you can read the book that way. I guess I just don't prefer books where carnal affairs are the center. And I didn't read it that way. It didn't seem to me that the carnal affairs were a desperate attempt to heal his broken heart. They seemed like he just wanted to have sex in the meantime. SOMEWHAT SPOILER ALERT BUT NOT REALLY:::::you cannot declare yourself a virgin just b/c you didn't love the hundreds of people you had sex with before your "one true love."

What bothered me I think was that in the end, I couldn't tell if the novel was condoning a life of promiscuity as long as it leads to one "true" love, or if it was condemning its character's behavior in some ways. I tend to lean towards thinking it wasn't really condemning it though. I probably missed something, I'm sure. Because not being sure what a book was saying is not usually the book's fault.

In some ways it should have been titled "Sex in the Time of Cholera," because the term "love" was used instead of "sex" almost constantly, and obviously, those are two very different things.(less)

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May 09, 2009 April rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who enjoy torturing themselves, perverts, sex offenders, and jerks

Shelves: book-club, 2008, 1001-books-list

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't like this book.

I don't like the characters. (This was going to be a list, but then I realized that this is the only reason I have.)

Florentino Ariza is a baby. Seriously, his mom gives him whatever he wants, and she tries to make everything all right for him, and he is very, very ... if he lived today, he would be one of those emo kids with the dyed black hair and the eye liner and the journals full of bad poetry (he does write bad poetry, in the book), all "Nobody gets me," and just a gr...more I don't like this book.

I don't like the characters. (This was going to be a list, but then I realized that this is the only reason I have.)

Florentino Ariza is a baby. Seriously, his mom gives him whatever he wants, and she tries to make everything all right for him, and he is very, very ... if he lived today, he would be one of those emo kids with the dyed black hair and the eye liner and the journals full of bad poetry (he does write bad poetry, in the book), all "Nobody gets me," and just a grating, time-sucking, high maintenance type. He rationalizes his behavior in whatever way he can, so he never feels that he is doing anything wrong.

I grew impatient with him fairly quickly; I wanted to wring him by his neck and yell, "GET OVER IT!!!" I have no tolerance for that kind of behavior.
Sometime during the Seduction of the 600, it says that Florentino Ariza thought that when a woman said no, she really meant something else (that's a paraphrase). This is another thing I have no tolerance for. So, when he persisted in his attentions to Fermina Daza, even after she'd made her own feelings quite clear (TWICE), and she came around to his way of thinking, it justified his behavior. I don't think he should be rewarded for that. I think he should be kicked to the curb.

Fermina Daza was almost likable; I was almost there with her, but then I realized that there wasn't anything really likable about her. She was efficient and organized, she was well-behaved, and she was boring. Why did men love her? What did she have to offer? I DON'T KNOW.

I did like Juvenal Urbino. Of course he dies in the first chapter.

It seemed to me that the book dragged on FOREVER; I kept looking ahead to the end of a chapter and sighing, "Forty-two more pages." (The chapters are long.) Even though two weeks doesn't seem like a long time, it's a long time for ME to be reading a book, particularly one that isn't a thousand pages long and written in Elizabethan English.

I didn't think this was any kind of love story. Like Wuthering Heights, it's more a love-gone-wrong story, or an obsession story; none of the characters really displayed any of the traits that I would associate with love, one which--the chief one, I would say--is selflessness. None of them were willing to put anyone else above themselves, and maybe that's why I didn't particularly care for them, or for this book.

I've written a more in-depth review here.(less)

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Dec 25, 2010 Syd rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic, cultural, movie, favorite, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. An unrequited love story. It is the story of a woman pursued from the first buds of puberty to the sour smell of old age by one man. For fifty-three years, seven months and eleven days and nights he does nothing but obsess over the woman. She accepted his love as a young girl but only from a distance and only through letters. When she finally meets him face to face, she realized that the love she felt for him was an illusion and broke off their engagement.

He persisted to love her from afar. He...more

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Apr 15, 2008 Samilja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a GGM fan and as such, I am utterly incapable of approaching one of his books with objectivity. One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all time favorites and I did not expect to enjoy Love in the Time of Cholera as much as that book - probably because of all the hype it's received on it's 20th anniversary and as a result of Oprah lauding it. Well, color me stupefied, I loved it even more than 100 Years.

Yes, this is a love story of sorts - it spans more than 5 decades and the 'lovers' at...more I'm a GGM fan and as such, I am utterly incapable of approaching one of his books with objectivity. One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of my all time favorites and I did not expect to enjoy Love in the Time of Cholera as much as that book - probably because of all the hype it's received on it's 20th anniversary and as a result of Oprah lauding it. Well, color me stupefied, I loved it even more than 100 Years.

Yes, this is a love story of sorts - it spans more than 5 decades and the 'lovers' at the story's heart interact in person only in the last 25 pages or so & only after all that time has passed. But as with all GGM books, the real story is in the details. It's in the absolute fabric-like breadth of the book. I read an interview where Marquez talked about his penchant for delving into the minutiae (he relates it to his early career as a journalist)and for me, this is exactly what I love about his stories. On the other hand, I've had several friends with whom I typically share book opinions tell me that they can't 'get through' one of GGM's books (no matter which Title is in question). They find him hard to follow, or too slow, or tedious - maybe all of the above and then some. I can appreciate that but I actually enjoy the slow pace of these novels. I like that I really find a sense of feeling for the places and the characters that I often don't find in books where the plot unfolds quickly and development is forward-moving. Marquez embraces exposition which I think can turn people off or on - just depends.

Specific to this book, I love that once the story was told, I could think back through the novel and realize that the love story in question is really just a metaphor for cholera (or is it vice versa?) and the havoc it wreaked for decades on the characters' Caribbean homeland. The central character here, Florentino Ariza, is not particularly lovable. He's very human in his many vices and peculiarities and one must question his emtional and pscyhological stability when considering his lifetime spent in pursuit of what amounts to idolatry. Then again, many spend their lives this way, with the same hypocricies and faults - just not in the name of love.

I am amazed to know that someone made this novel into a movie not long ago - I'm curious enough that i think I'll watch it although I can't imagine it being successfully done. Marquez books embody exactly those characteristics I think would elude a film: languidness, patience, detail, and a receptivity to veering off in many directions without the expectation of always finding resolution.(less)

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Nov 05, 2011 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Lush, sensual and poetic in its prose, Marquez spins a vivid tale about a man's love for a woman that waits fifty years to come to fruition. Beneath the imagery and romance, however, lies Marquez's sharp observations on the nature of relationships, marriage and old age all told with Marquez's brand of humor, wisdom and unflinching veracity.his book is not about the relationship of Fermina and Florentino. The book is about love in all of its forms, and the characters in the book exist as vehicles...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Ikra Amesta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nobel-prize-laureates

Jelaskan pada saya tentang cinta. Jika pertanyaan ini saya lontarkan pada 50 orang yang terdiri dari laki-laki dan perempuan, maka bukan tidak mungkin saya akan mendapatkan 50 jawaban yang berbeda, dan kesemuanya benar, atau setidaknya dapat dibenarkan. Tapi bagaimana kalau menjelaskan tentang orang yang sedang jatuh cinta, anak muda yang dimabuk kepayang sampai semabuk-mabuknya, yang akal sehatnya ditukar dengan proyeksi romantis yang ia ciptakan sendiri terhadap lawan jenisnya— pernyataan apa...more Jelaskan pada saya tentang cinta. Jika pertanyaan ini saya lontarkan pada 50 orang yang terdiri dari laki-laki dan perempuan, maka bukan tidak mungkin saya akan mendapatkan 50 jawaban yang berbeda, dan kesemuanya benar, atau setidaknya dapat dibenarkan. Tapi bagaimana kalau menjelaskan tentang orang yang sedang jatuh cinta, anak muda yang dimabuk kepayang sampai semabuk-mabuknya, yang akal sehatnya ditukar dengan proyeksi romantis yang ia ciptakan sendiri terhadap lawan jenisnya— pernyataan apa yang bisa menjelaskan fenomena tersebut? Apakah istilah “Love is Blind” masih cukup relevan untuk mewakili bagian dari kegilaan yang di salah satu sisi humanisme-nya mencerminkan perilaku manusia yang, katakanlah, irelevan?

Ketika selesai membaca karya Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, saya memikirkan sebuah kata atau kalimat yang dapat mewakili novel ini dan kata yang berhasil saya tangkap adalah “menunggu”, sebuah kata yang pada prakteknya merupakan aktivitas yang tidak saja membosankan tapi juga penuh resiko. Namun saya tidak dapat mengenyampingkan keunikan dari menunggu di mana walaupun tidak terlalu banyak gerak atau otot-otot yang dipakai untuk melakukannya —kita bahkan dapat menyimbolkan menunggu dengan duduk di kursi malas seharian— tapi pergolakan batin yang terjadi di dalam diri manusia yang menunggu adalah paduan yang ramai antara harapan, rasionalitas, perencanaan, manajemen resiko, doa, dan yang paling mendebarkan, permainan logika yang menempatkan subjek dalam persimpangan antara bertindak atau tetap lanjut menunggu.

Florentino Ariza memiliki angan-angan muluk sejak cintanya ditolak oleh Fermina Daza dan ditinggal nikah olehnya, bahwa suatu saat ia akan mengambil hati pujaannya itu dan satu-satunya jalan yang ia percaya adalah menanti suaminya meninggal dunia. Inilah sebuah pernyataan yang menyiratkan makna menunggu yangsaya sebutkan sebelumnya yang selain menyimpan gabungan antara mimpi dan probabilitas, juga menyelipkan kepasrahan yang mengiba. Florentino adalah kisah tentang ketetapan hati, kalau tidak mau disebut sebagai ratapan tak berujung, yang benihnya lahir dari pandangan pertama dan menyiksa dia sepanjang hidup. Sebuah hal yang absurd mengingat Florentino sendiri tidak pernah punya cukup bukti bahwa hidupnya akan diliputi kebahagiaan seandainya ia bisa bersama Fermina tapi sekali lagi, dia adalah orang yang sedang jatuh cinta. Dan ini membuat kisahnya menjadi semacam perjuangan cinta sejati ketimbang keputus-asaan yang berlebihan.

Bicara tentang cinta sejati saya teringat potongan lirik lagu John Lennon berjudul Real Love yang bunyinya: From this moment on I know/ Exactly where my life will go/ Seems that all I really was doing/ Was waiting for love. Lagi-lagi memang dikaitkan dengan menunggu (atau untuk referensi lain, Radiohead juga menciptakan lagu yang berjudul True Love Waits, yang lagi-lagi mengaitkan keduanya dalam satu konsep). Mungkin memang demikianlah adanya sebuah cinta sejati, lahir dari proses menunggu, bukan dari pencarian kesana-kemari.

Cinta sejati memang bukan perkara yang mudah untuk dijabarkan tapi ada potongan gambaran yang mungkin akan sedikit membantu dari kepingan cerita Florentino di dalam buku: Pada masa-masa ditinggalkan itu, Florentino menjalani hidupnya dengan beberapa wanita yang datang dan pergi di mana ia hanya mampu mengenang kisah tersebut sebagai bentuk dari pengalaman aktivitas seksual seorang laki-laki dewasa. Rasa cintanya terhadap Fermina tidak pernah lekang di hatinya. Sampai akhirnya, kira-kira 53 tahun kemudian, ketika ia sampai pada tahap melanjutkan kisah cintanya dengan Fermina di kesempatan yang telah ia dambakan (saat suaminya meninggal), ia telah tumbuh sebagai seorang kakek yang fungsi serta hasrat seksualnya telah habis dimakan waktu. Ia tak mampu menyetubuhi Fermina. Ironis, namun manis, karena saya teringat oleh kutipan Milan Kundera dalam bukunya The Unbearable Lightness of Being, bahwa “Cinta tidak membuahkan keinginan untuk bersetubuh, tetapi keinginan untuk berbagi tidur.”

Lalu kalau begitu bagaimana dengan cinta sejati? Adakah yang bisa menjelaskannya? Bila saya lontarkan pertanyaan tersebut pada 50 orang, mungkin sebagian besar tidak ada yang tahu jawabannya ataupun jika memang ada yang tahu, mereka akan lebih memilih diam hanya untuk beberapa saat mengenangnya kembali di dalam hati sambil perlahan-lahan tersenyum sendiri.
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Mar 26, 2013 محمد سيد رشوان rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: استعرتها_من_كريم_صديقى

بسم الله ..

والحمد لله..

والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ..

مبدئياً : العنوان

حينما كنت أسمع عن " الحب فى زمن الكوليرا " كنت أقول لابد أنها رواية مأساوية تتحدث عن حب بين اثنين فى ظروف صعبة ومعدمة وفى جو يعكر صفاء الحب بينهما الفقر المدقع ، ومما يزيد الأمر مأساوية هو أن يصاب احدهما بالكوليرا ، ويتوالى الصراع بين الحب والموت ، الحب والفقر ، الحب والمرض ..إلخ
وبذلك تكون الرواية رائعة ..

لإنه بالتأكيد ماركيز _وكنت قد سمعت عنه كثيراً بأنه عالمى،ولم تنجب الرواية مثله من قبل_ سيتناولها بأسلوبه الذى هو قطعاً سا...more
بسم الله ..

والحمد لله..

والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ..

مبدئياً : العنوان

حينما كنت أسمع عن " الحب فى زمن الكوليرا " كنت أقول لابد أنها رواية مأساوية تتحدث عن حب بين اثنين فى ظروف صعبة ومعدمة وفى جو يعكر صفاء الحب بينهما الفقر المدقع ، ومما يزيد الأمر مأساوية هو أن يصاب احدهما بالكوليرا ، ويتوالى الصراع بين الحب والموت ، الحب والفقر ، الحب والمرض ..إلخ
وبذلك تكون الرواية رائعة ..

لإنه بالتأكيد ماركيز _وكنت قد سمعت عنه كثيراً بأنه عالمى،ولم تنجب الرواية مثله من قبل_ سيتناولها بأسلوبه الذى هو قطعاً ساحر وعالمى وبشكل سيجعل دموعى تفيض أنهاراً من بؤس الأبطال ومأساوية الحكاية..

فأفاجأ بأنه ليس هناك من مأساة من هذا النوع على الإطلاق ..

ولنترك العنوان ولنتحدث عن صلب الموضوع

إننى لتكاد تنفجر مرارتى ، ويقف قلبى معاناة بسبب هؤلاء الذين يتنادون بالقيمة والهدف والرسالة والمضمون الذى يحمله الأدب وما إلى ذلك ..

بحيث أن يعمل الأديب واعظاً ، فيعظ الناس ويدعوهم بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة ، لا أديباً يتحدث عن مشاعر إنسانية ، وعن الإنسان المتناقض المكابد للحياة فى شتى صور المكابدة وغربة هذا الإنسان ووصفها داخل مجتمعه السحيق الميت ..

واريد أن اسألهم سؤالاً : أين هى الموعظة والقيمة والهدف والرسالة فى تلك الرواية ؟
الرواية ليست فيها أى قيمة أو محتوى وعظوى ، أو هدف أو رسالة

القضية كلها : فلورينتينو أريثا الشاب الكئيب الخجول الصامت يحب فيرمينيا داثا الفتاة الجميلة الصغيرة المراهقة، ويعيشان فى قصة حب أسطورية تتخللها الرسائل العاطفية ومعزوفات الكمان الساحرة التى يعزفها لها على مقربة من منزلها..

ولكن قصة الحب تلك يعترضها عدم موافقة الأب عليها ، والذى يترتب عليه هجر المدينة بابنته ..
لإجبارها على تركه ونسيانه

يعود بعد فترة ، ويوليها مسئولية المنزل بعد طرد عمتها التى تسببت فى مد جسر التواصل بين العاشِقَين ،وبينما هى تتجول فى السوق يتبعها فلورينتينو صامتاً دون أن تشعر .. إلى أن يحدثها فتقول بدون مبرر موضح فى الرواية أن الأمر قد انتهى .. لتنهى بذلك قصة الحب العميقة بلمسة زر . رغم أنها قبل ان تقول هذة الكلمة كانت تقول لنفسها لحظة وقوع عينها عليه .. " ياللرجل البائس"ـ
وبعد ، ترفض فيرمينيا مقابلته مرة اخرى ولا حتى الرد على رسائله ، فيبتعد بعيداً منشغلاً بالعمل مع عمه ليون ..
وفى تلك الاثناء يظهر فى الصورة العائد من اوروبا د.أوربينيو الذى يحب فيرمينا بمجرد رؤيتها ..
وبعد فترة يتزوجان .. رغم معارضتها فى بادئ الأمر ..
ومع الوقت تحبه وتنسى "أريثا" ثم يموت خوفيينال أوربينيو[الرواية تبدأ بالمناسبة من موت خوفيينال ثم تدور فى منطقة فلاش باك تمتد لمئات الصفحات] ويعود فلوربينيو لمراسلتها.
تمتنع عن الرد على الرسائل فى بادئ الأمر .. ثم سرعان ماتستجيب للرد ومبادلته المراسلة التى سرعان ماتتطور وتصبح جلسات منزلية أسبوعية ..
وبعد فترة يصطحبها فى رحلة نهرية بالسفينة .. وتنتهى الحكاية وهما فى حكم المخطوبين ..

تـبــاً :ـ

أين هى القيمة والمعنى والرسالة التى يبغى ماركيز توصبلها يا أرباب الفن بمضمونه ومحتواه وسلاطاته وباباغنوجه؟

الحكاية كلها : شخص يحب امرأة ، تتزوج من آخر ، يموت ، فتعود لحب السابق..

يقولون أن الحب فى زمن الكوليرا أفضل بمراحل من مائة عام من العزلة التى كانت السبب الرئيسى فى حصول ماركيز على "نوبل" عام82
والتى لا تقل شهرة عن " الكوليرا"..

ماذا إذن ؟

لماذا يصدّرون لنا ماركيز كأنه الذى لم تأتِ به ولّادة .. وليس له مثيل..
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الرواية رائعة ، وماركيز أسلوبه رائع ، ولكنه ليس بذلك التقديس والتأليه والرفعة التى يعطونها له عن سائر الكـُتاب..
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وقد كنت من قبل قد أحببت محفوظ وذكرت أنه علم فى دنيا الرواية .. و من النجوم الزاهرات فى سماء الأدب..
فهونوا من شأنه بعد أن نظروا لى نظرة امتعاض مصاحبة لمط الشفاه وقالوا:وماذا يأتى محفوظ بجوار قامة عالية كماركيز .. محفوظ أديب جيد ، ولكنه ليس بقامة كقامة ماركيز..

وأحب أن اقول: يا الله ، من ذا الذى أخبركم أن ماركيز أصلاً يأتى شيئاً بجوار محفوظ ؟؟

إننى لا أريد ان اقارن رواية لمحفوظ مع الكوليرا فمحفوظ سيطيح به

من الممكن ان نقارن ماركيز على سبيل المثال بمحمد المنسى قنديل
وربما قارننا " الكوليرا" بقمر على سمرقند ..
ولكن محفوظ .. فلا وألف لا..وستكون المقارنة ظالمة لمحفوظ وفى غير صالح ماركيز لو كانوا يعقلون

إن فصل واحد من فصول الحرافيش العشرة .. تطيح بكل أعمال ماركيز

والمعانى والأسلوب والاقتصاد اللغوى والتكثيف والترفع عن الخوض فى تفاصيل لن تسمن ولن تغنى من جوع التى احتوت عليها الحرافيش تطيح بالكوليرا
فلماذا عقدة الخواجة..؟
ولماذا نحط من شأن انفسنا فى مقابل أشخاص ليسوا أجدر ممن هم عندنا

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فى الأخير : أحب أن اقول : إن الرواية رائعة حقاً على سبيل القص .. وربما استفاد ماركيز من العمل كصحفى واستفاد من ثقافته الواسعة .. فهذة الرواية مكتوبة بيد بروفيسور رحالة ..
وإن كان قد أطال فى الوصف لدرجة جعلتنى املّ فى بعض الصفحات ، ولكنه سرعان مايجعلك تتشوق لإكمال الرواية
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وأحب أن أقول إن ترجمة صالح علمانى رائعة رائعة .. بحيث كنت أشعر أن ماركيز يتحدث فى أذنى
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وإذا كان لابد من موعظة : فهو تعليم الناس ألا ينساقوا وراء آراء البعض المنبهر بكل ماهو آتٍ من الخارج
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وفى النهاية أحب أن أشكر صديقى كريم أحمد الذى يعيرنى تلك المطبوعات ذات الثمن الخارج عن مقدرتى .. ولولاه ماكنت قد استطعت قراءتها إلا بعد أمدٍ بعيد (less)

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Dec 06, 2007 Tippi rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First and foremost, I should point out that I did enjoy reading this book. It was well-written, interesting, and original.

With that said, I didn't really enjoy the story. The characters go on and on about love, and Florentino Ariza is supposedly this great poet who writes such wonderful things about love, but all this book is about is sex. Honestly, it's probably 65% sex, 35% plot/character development. And some of it is just wrong. A fourteen-year-old child (a relative and his ward, no less) wi...more

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May 14, 2008 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: funky-fiction, hersday-book-club, what-i-read-in-2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez because of John Cusack. It’s no secret that I have a weakness for the man. Between him and Gilbert Blythe, I’m likely to remain single for my entire life, because I’ll be searching for the combination of the two of them for eternity. I've started reading this book at least half a dozen times. This last time it was selected for the HBC ... Hersday Book Club. So I had to keep going this time.

Much like my quest for the perfect cross betwe...more

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Feb 16, 2008 Becca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Becca by: Hollywood

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In a word: disappointing. LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA is held up as a Classic Love Story for the Timeless Ages. I was prepared to be Swept Away By A Passionate Tale. Instead, I plodded through it - on the Metro, on the beach, on my lunch break, waiting for the moment when it would All Be Worth It. I am still waiting. Here are the difficulties:

1. The hero is a pedophile. Really. I can account for differences of culture and era, but I cannot get past the romantic hero being a sexual predator, whos...more

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Jun 26, 2007 Siobhan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

I learned that I will never be a great writer, because sometimes, there are people like Marquez, who manage to write such an amazing piece of art without making it ponderous, pretentious, or difficult.

It's not really about the plot, is it? A guy is in love with a girl, and waits for her for 50-odd years, while conducting his own affairs.

Here's the thing, though. The way the story is told is segue-free, almost conversational, but with such sumptuous detail and description, that it can only be e...more

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May 01, 2013 Meenakshi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature

Few books tend to leave an indelible mark. This was certainly one of the rare ones that did. Somehow I could never forget how it began.."IT was inevitable: The scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love..".
A love story different than any other I have ever read. Beautiful, funny, astonishing.

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Aug 03, 2009 Ayu Palar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dini

Recommended to Ayu by: Sherien

Will you love someone for half a century even though she belongs to someone else? You may say, what for? I’d rather find someone else! But Florentino Ariza will answer, yes I will. For fifty-one years, nine months and four days, he has loved Fermina Daza. However, since her father opposes his relationship with Florentino, Fermina decides to marry someone else, Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Meanwhile, Florentino tries to heal his broken heart by making love to many women. He writes the name of every woman...more

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Dec 22, 2007 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: romantics

I'm not going to lie; I read this book (and, before it, 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being') because they were the books referenced in the movie version of 'High Fidelity' that Rob used to point out that he wasn't dumb, because he understood them (they're about girls, right?).

And now that I too can claim to be smart, because I've read these books, I can say that he's pretty much right. They are about girls, when you get right down to it. Yes, of course, there is an embarrassingly great deal of o...more

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Jul 06, 2011 umberto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I don't know Spanish, therefore, I need to be content with an English version translated by Edith Grossman. I think this novel is one of the best love stories I have read. At times we may find it a bit tedious in reading some parts due to the author's unique 'stream of consciousness' style of narration but we can't help admiring the hero's unending love since he can keep waiting till their time comes, no matter how long he has to wait or how aging they are. In other words, they love each other s...more

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Mar 21, 2011 سارة درويش rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: كُتب-أحبها

بالرغم من النحس المبالغ فيه المصاحب لمحاولاتي لإنهاء الرواية ، إلا إنها رااااااااااائعة ومذهلة ، عمري في حياتي ما اتسرقت في الحكاية قد ما اتسرقت في الرواية دي ، دخل بيا من حدوتة لحدوتة ، أحداث قديمة في أحداث جديدة ، رغم إن فيرمينا داثا هي في رأيي بطلة الرواية إلا إنه ما حكاش عنها قد ما حكى عن عشيقها المجنون فعلياً بيها ، حبيت أوي الدكتور أوربينو ، وعجبتني جداً فيرمينا ، ماحبيتش فليورينتو آريثا إلا لما فيرمينيا بدأت تتقبله في آخر الرواية
مشكلته مش انه حبها لدرجة الجنون ، مشكلته ان حياته كانت من غ...more

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Jul 01, 2008 Jennie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: important-but-craptastic

GGM is an amazing writer, his prose is fluid and draws you in. I wish my Spanish was still good enough to read this in the original, rather than the translation.

Unlike many of the people that disliked the book, I had no problems with Florentino sleeping around. His promiscuity was no issue for me, I mean, people do this all the time. I struck me as an honest dipction of how some people live. And I even get that he could never really kill his love for Fermina. My personal opinion is that everyon...more GGM is an amazing writer, his prose is fluid and draws you in. I wish my Spanish was still good enough to read this in the original, rather than the translation.

Unlike many of the people that disliked the book, I had no problems with Florentino sleeping around. His promiscuity was no issue for me, I mean, people do this all the time. I struck me as an honest dipction of how some people live. And I even get that he could never really kill his love for Fermina. My personal opinion is that everyone you love you love with a different part of your heart and love in a different way. What I couldn't like was his inability to incorperate his past into his present, to live in the present, to embrace life and enjoy those who cared about him. (Yes, I get that this was intentional.) I felt bad for him, but in the same way I feel bad for addicts...they live in a hell of their own actions. Which, when you think about it, is the case for much of humanity.

I never really got the sense of love from either Florentino or Fermina. I got obsession pure and simple. I do remember being head over heels for someone when I was a teenager and I get that obsessive is the best way to characterize those feelings. But to classify it as love, and a love that is worth dwelling on for 50 years, I never got that in all of the beautiful writing in the book. I felt like I could identify much more with the kind of comfortable, familiar love that is clearly expressed between Fermina and Juvenal. The two "loves" are very different, and the problem is that the marriage and their relationship is so much better illuminated than whatever existed between Fermina and Florentino. Admittedly, the relationship between Florentino and Fermina became much more understandable and relatable when they reconnected during their twilight years.

The only time that I really disliked Florentino's character was in the incident with America. I can overlook the pedophilia, but I can't overlook that he took advantage of someone he was supposed to care about. I can't overlook his abuse of power and I can't overlook his lack of empathy for her. What really "got my goat" was his total lack of remorse when his own horrible actions caused her death.

All in all, I thought this was a beautifully written book with a horribly boring plot. Its worth reading just for the prose, but if I were going to recommend a GGM book it wouldn't be this one, it would be 100 Years of Solitude.(less)

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view all 5 comments

Tom O’Connell Very mature review. I found your assessment fair; it's clearl that it comes from an open mind. I appreciate that you've justified your rating and not...more
Jan 09, 2012 06:24pm

Jennie Hi Tom,

I'm glad you enjoyed my review. I try to give fictional characters the benefit of the doubt, particularly when written by writers with talent....more
Jan 15, 2012 01:43pm

Apr 30, 2008 Moody rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 2.3 Stars

I can't remember the last time I paid full price for a work of fiction, what with ebay and libraries and thrift stores.

I was thirsty for this book, had to get my hands on it. I had caught a brief review of the movie in the paper, and thought "man waits 50 years for his true love. That's the story for me!" Picked it up at the airport the following day, just like those suckers placing orders in the SkyMall catalogue.

And now, for some reason, against the current of the canon and others, I...more 2.3 Stars

I can't remember the last time I paid full price for a work of fiction, what with ebay and libraries and thrift stores.

I was thirsty for this book, had to get my hands on it. I had caught a brief review of the movie in the paper, and thought "man waits 50 years for his true love. That's the story for me!" Picked it up at the airport the following day, just like those suckers placing orders in the SkyMall catalogue.

And now, for some reason, against the current of the canon and others, I feel the need to qualify my opinion of it. But the truth is, just because he's great, the work stands on its own or it doesn't.

Some books, I'll be reading and with a big grin, roll over from my stomach to my back in bed, hold it the air and shake it like the Gay Cowboy love of my life...it's that good. It's so damn good. It takes over, I can't get enough of it. I'll stay up thirty-six hours rather than interrupt the experience. At the end, I feel real loss, and anger at the author for not continuing on and on forever to keep these characters and this story alive for me, so enriched is my life by their presence.

I celebrated 100 Years of Solitude and Of Love and Other Demons, was transfixed by both. I remember reading them and being in awe of Marquez; his style and storytelling were inspiring, and I got lost in them. With that said, it never occurred to me I wouldn't enjoy this book as well. But I didn't. The overwhelming sense for me was frustration.

Clearly Marquez can paint. His talent transports the reader into the streets, completely immerses you in the smell, texture, taste of the place. His characters too, have sharp, bold outlines and real richness, their clothes and faces and their slightest mannerisms are all skillfully infused. For all the detail, the characters never came across as totally human, and as time progressed and more was revealed, I cared about them less and less. The stench of wasted ________ coated everything. The tangential threads of plot that careened off here and there didn't work for me in this book, where in 100 Years, the magic and chaos of the story matched the telling perfectly.

I took meaning from the insights the book made into the reality of love, marriage, romanticism, and the misguided pursuit of the ideal. And he could get under my skin too, make me want to rip out pages rather than stand for the decisions of his characters. Those bastards. Also, for me, the book could have dropped about two-hundred pages without significantly impacting its effect.

The final sentence had me cheering, in real celebration; I loved it. "Huzzah!" I shouted right alongside Florentino. "That's Right!" I shouted, laughingly. Found it Fantastic.

I have to mention that I wasn't impressed with the seventy year old Florentino's relationship with his adolescent ward near the end of the book. And I've got nothing against dirty old men; I hope to be one someday. In Of Love and Other Demons, the relationship didn't bother me at all, as it had some others I loaned my copy to. Maybe the intervening ten years have colored my perspective, but I think it was more about how he approached it. As though the fourteen year-old was grateful/fortunate to have such a gentle and experienced lover initiate her sexuality. Lucky her. She gets over him by killing herself. Moving on...Fermina Daza is in a hot air balloon... I recognized the purpose of her inclusion, but even so, this part took my lack of interest and tinged it with disgust.

Maybe because it wasn't the story I wanted or expected. Maybe more magic, less ugly reality would have suited me.
Maybe I need no lessons or lectures on love and lust and obsession and needful desire and hollowed out bones from longing. Whatever the reason, I donated my copy to the local library with the sincere hope that its next reader would cherish it in the way that I wanted to but could not.
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Oct 31, 2007 Ryan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

i have to say something about this book: i tried reading this thing three times, and the farthest i got was about halfway through. why? it pissed me off beyond belief. this is romance at its most frustrating. why do all these epic, sweeping love stories involve loving someone from afar? haven't we moved beyond that petrarchan form of idealized love? hasn't beatrice left the building? why is waiting and self-sacrificing the ultimate testament to passion?

love is not a one-sided emotion - it is cr...more

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Aug 10, 2007 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2007

I had mixed feelings about this book. The theme of love manifesting itself in physical ways, like a disease akin to cholera, was interesting, and I liked the style with which the story was narrated. The unfolding of the plot was nicely done, engagingly written. And I really liked the sense of passage of time that the book imbued with ease. The themes of death, aging, etc. -- those were handled with great expertise by Marquez.

But the main characters, Dr. Urbino, Fermina Daza, and Florentino Ariza...more

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Jan 23, 2008 Jamie B. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jamie by: Nathan

This is probably the first romantic novel I've read written by a male author. I'm used to romantic novels from the feminine perspective: about the females' inner struggles between two men, or her inner dichotomy between living up to her social obligations and liberating her inner soul. In this novel, however, the most developed characters are the males, and the two main male characters have struggles of how to stay honorable: 1. one is a distinguished doctor who lives his life outwardly with the...more

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Mar 01, 2008 Rhona rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Recommended to Rhona by: book club

I did not enjoy this at all. This is a book about a weak man excessively obsessed with a married woman for over 50 years. He pines his time away with 622 sexual encounters that he records and we have to read through. The book is SLOW! He is sickly obsessed. He's a pervert, possibly a pedophile. He finally is reunited with his true love when she is in her 80's and then he describes their bodies and love life. Don't recommend this to anyone! This is not what true love is...it is a book about obses...more

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May 15, 2013 miaaa rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: po and gabo's fans

Recommended to miaaa by: Spamiola

Shelves: ophelia-s-library, fictions-others

This review is republished in my personal blog: http://opheliamorada.tumblr.com/post/...

cheers

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Oct 18, 2008 Logan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Logan by: Lorena K.

Shelves: 1001-list, classics, fiction

In short, I loved this book. While primarily about love and all of the near infinite permutations that can be called love, this book is also a love story to an era that has since disappeared. A nostalgic look at a Colombia of fairy tales that carries with it not a little bit of wistfulness. A friend of mine said that when she reads Garcia Marquez she "get(s) transported to the stories my grandfather used to tell me growing up, the same streets, the same adobe homes, the same richness, same pover...more In short, I loved this book. While primarily about love and all of the near infinite permutations that can be called love, this book is also a love story to an era that has since disappeared. A nostalgic look at a Colombia of fairy tales that carries with it not a little bit of wistfulness. A friend of mine said that when she reads Garcia Marquez she "get(s) transported to the stories my grandfather used to tell me growing up, the same streets, the same adobe homes, the same richness, same poverty ... its like a trip- travel back in time to a place where I have never been but experienced through his old eyes."

With Garcia Marquez's knack for lush descriptions and for capturing the perverse nature of all humans, he creates an epic love story that is not so much about the characters in love, if anything they are so wrong for each other that they should never be together, so much as it is about love itself, as a verb, noun or adjective. There is jealous love, all-consuming love, perverse love, non-carnal love, love as an ideal, love that destroys, love that nurtures and plain ol' down-and-dirty, rolling-in-the-sheets, gasping-for-breath, drenched-in-sweat love. If there is a variety of love that Marquez does not bring into the story then I don't know what it is.

The only problem with this hinges on the two lovers, Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza, who are so utterly and completely wrong for each other that the tragedy of their inability to act on their love strikes me as a blessing in disguise. When Fermina Daza initially spurns Ariza and weds Dr. Juvenal Urbino, you can't help but think that she's dodged a bullet. If this book were a Shakespearean tragedy then Florentino Ariza's fatal flaw would be his all-consuming love for Fermina that stops him from ever fully giving himself to another woman and thus missing out on one of the most important aspects of being human. He never commits fully, always leaving an out just in the off chance that Fermina recognizes her love for him. He avoids living in the hope that he can one day live with her. This is supposed to be a grandly romantic concept yet as the book went on I kept hoping that Fermina would never look back toward Florentino, that she would step into the future rather than the past.(less)

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Sep 04, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: literature junkies

This book contains the most single lines in one work that I wish to lift from their pages and paste around my house so that I may bask in their glory on a daily basis.

Reading other reviews of this text always puzzles me. No, I don't need everyone to love what I love to the extent that I love it, but it just seems that those who detest it have really suffered a failure at literacy. With the risk of further offense, I will state that I believe the culprit is that cute little "Oprah's Book Club." T...more This book contains the most single lines in one work that I wish to lift from their pages and paste around my house so that I may bask in their glory on a daily basis.

Reading other reviews of this text always puzzles me. No, I don't need everyone to love what I love to the extent that I love it, but it just seems that those who detest it have really suffered a failure at literacy. With the risk of further offense, I will state that I believe the culprit is that cute little "Oprah's Book Club." This is not a work on which you stick a celebrity (if that's what she is) seal of approval and then throw in a gym bag or beach bag and sneak some pages in here and there because some famous lady told you that you should. It's serious literature.

And yet hilarious. Marquez shines as a comic genius of irony (the significance of cholera to this book is, itself, genius storytelling) and critical examiner of human relationships. An exploration on love-- love in all forms-- is conducted as thoroughly as if it were a science project. Perhaps this is where Marquez loses the aforementioned displeased readers, who wish to bottle love in a neat definition or notion that closely reflects the love they are experiencing in their own lives. The world is much broader than our silly little individual plights, my friends, and the experience of love changes if you are to ask an old woman, young man, or adolescent girl to define it. Marquez captures each of their stories, and more, and never asks that his reader compare these to their own experience of love, he simply describes them and includes them in Love's definition.

I find the courtship between Fermina and Florentino dazzling and spot-on. Yes, it is obsessive and incredibly fickle, but that is MY experience of adolescent love! I find new love between octogenarians inspiring and heartwarming, because after an entire lifetime, what two other individuals better know themselves and, thus, are able to give themselves entirely to each other? I also wasn't offended (as many are) by Florentino's relationship with the under-age America. Again, Marquez is being exploratory, and he gives no love or relationship safe haven from his literary microscope. He doesn't purport to create "perfect" and "ideal" characters, and how many of us can truly say we "like" our own mates ALL of the time anyway? This isn't "The Notebook," and some of the depicted relationships might come across as unsavory and vile to some of our self-righteous American eyes, but isn't such narrow-mindedness a bad mate for *real* literature anyway?

"Love in the Time of Cholera" is fine literature. Superbly written, beautiful and rich, I see this as nothing short of a masterpiece.
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Mar 15, 2008 Tempest rated it 5 of 5 stars

Love in the Time of Cholera is not a simple love story. To read it as such would be a disservice to the book's exploration of love as an infinitely complex emotion; as an emotion that can both contradict and embrace itself within the same heartbeat. Without favoring any expression, Gabriel García Márquez speaks of long marriages, happy in their stability and co-dependency. He speaks of promiscuity, and how "one can be in love with several people at the same time, feel the same sorrow with each,...more

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Mar 24, 2008 Rika rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Rika by: Tertarik sama buku ini karena gak sengaja baca satu artikel di T

Buku ini nyeritain kisah cinta yang gak kesampaian antara Forentino Ariza dengan Fermina Daza -cinta yang tertunda selama 51 tahun, 9 bulan dan 4 hari- karena pada akhirnya Fermina Daza memutuskan untuk menikah dengan Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Satu bab pertama, emang touching apalagi pas Dr. Juvenal Urbino-nya jatoh dari pohon karena berusaha nangkap burung parrot-nya yang lepas dan akhirnya meninggal. "Only God knows how much I loved you". Hiks..

Tapi begitu flashback ke masa muda mereka, bosen juga.....more

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Feb 17, 2008 Rodrigo GM rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who has been in love

Recommended to Rodrigo by: Estela Macías Turcott

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "La memoria del corazón elimina los malos recuerdos y magnifica los buenos, y gracias a ese artificio logramos sobrellevar el pasado." - Gabriel García Márquez

La última vez que tomé un libro de Gabriel García Márquez fue a mediados del año 2002. Mi novia había insistido en esa ocasión que leyera Cien años de soledad, pues es ferviente admiradora de García Márquez y de esa novela en particular desde hace mucho tiempo.

La verdad es que, cuando surgió el tema, me vi muy renuente a aceptar. Mis único...more "La memoria del corazón elimina los malos recuerdos y magnifica los buenos, y gracias a ese artificio logramos sobrellevar el pasado." - Gabriel García Márquez

La última vez que tomé un libro de Gabriel García Márquez fue a mediados del año 2002. Mi novia había insistido en esa ocasión que leyera Cien años de soledad, pues es ferviente admiradora de García Márquez y de esa novela en particular desde hace mucho tiempo.

La verdad es que, cuando surgió el tema, me vi muy renuente a aceptar. Mis únicos acercamientos con García Márquez habían sido Crónica de una muerte anunciada y un fallido intento por leer Cien años de soledad. Mi mamá, siendo también fiel al trabajo del escritor colombiano, alguna vez había puesto ese libro en la mesa de noche que se encuentra justo al lado de mi cama, como sugiriendo vagamente que lo leyera. Supongo que pensó que, si el hecho de ser mi madre le daba el derecho de acomodar mi cama cada vez que le parecía desatendida, también le daba el privilegio de sugerir lecturas, procurando uno de los lugares más preciados de la vivienda moderna: la cama. Así que se aprovechó de la inherente necesidad de acostarme todas las noches en esa cama. Ingenuamente, caí en su pequeña treta y traté de leer Cien años de soledad.

No tuve ningún problema al principio. La manera anecdótica de relatar la historia de García Márquez me pareció entretenida y mi mente estaba suficientemente adaptada a la ficción y a la fantasía como para asimilar exitosamente el realismo mágico del autor. El problema surgió cuando empezaron a aparecer Aurelianos Buendía hasta por debajo de la sopa. Siempre he sido muy obsesivo con el tener control de cuanto se encuentre a mi alrededor, por lo que el hecho de perder la referencia del árbol genealógico me desesperó al punto en que hice algo que suelo no perdonarme: dejar el libro a medias.

Pasó el tiempo y supongo que mi inconsciente freudiano hizo que olvidara ese pequeño incidente... hasta el momento en que mi novia, al igual que mi madre, decidió recomendármelo de nuevo, justo en el momento preciso en el que uno es incapaz de negarle algo a una novia. Esta vez, ella misma se ofreció a leerlo de nuevo, para que pudiéramos avanzar a la par y que pudiéramos irlo comentando. Debo aceptar que avancé mucho más que la vez anterior, pues el hecho de comentarlo, o, incluso leer juntos ciertos fragmentos, me ayudó a llevar un poco mejor la línea de la historia. Sin embargo, no tardé en cerrarlo de manera definitiva sin haber alcanzado el final. Llegó el momento de nuevo en que mi desesperación por llevar una idea clara de la genealogía de la historia sobrepasó mi tolerancia. Tengo entendido que esa incertidumbre constante con respecto a los personajes es una de los aspectos principales de esa novela que la hace excesivamente atractiva entre varios lectores, entre ellos, mi novia y, probablemente, mi madre.

Honestamente, cada vez que alguien hablaba de Gabriel García Márquez o, lo que es peor, lo alababa, pensaba hacia mi interior en aquellas anécdotas infructuosas de mi pasado y no entendía el valor literario de alguien que había sido lo suficientemente frustrante como para que yo dejara una de sus novelas a medias.

Recientemente, a alguien se le ocurrió hacer una versión cinematográfica de la novela El amor en los tiempos del cólera. Con frecuencia, me gusta leer los libros antes de ver las películas. Esto fue un gran incentivo para tratar de tomar ese libro de nuevo, así que recurrí a mi fuente más confiable con respecto al escritor colombiano: mi novia. Dado que su madre es aficionada también (ha de venir en la sangre) y que tiene la colección completa de los libros de García Márquez, decidí preguntarle que si me lo prestaba para echarle un vistazo. Lo tomé decididamente, quizás con el temor de tener que dejarlo a la mitad, como había sucedido con Cien años de soledad.

Como debí haberlo imaginado, la novela es densamente anecdótica. No termina de contar una historia cuando decide ligar esa línea con algo relacionado, pero sin nunca perder el propósito de la novela. Es como estar leyendo código de un lenguaje funcional, en el que los paréntesis terminan por perderte, pero en conjunto suelen ser muy poderosos. Lo mismo sucedía aquí. Era como mis clases de literatura de la prepa, donde el profesor hilaba una idea con otra y, al final, le costaba trabajo recordar la línea de pensamientos que lo habían conducido fatídicamente a algo que muy probablemente no tenía nada que ver con literatura (suponiendo que algo en la vida NO tenga nada que ver con la literatura...).

Para mi sorpresa, la historia captura al lector desde la primera parte. En general, me gustan los libros con capítulos periódicos y bien definidos. Me dan tiempo para dejar el libro sin sentirme culpable de no haber terminado el capítulo. Esta novela tiene los capítulos más grandes y no hay manera alguna de parar el libro a la mitad de un capítulo sin sentir que algo interesante venía después. El narrador se encarga de hacer que la novela sea lo suficientemente interesante como para impedir que esto sea un problema. Las descripciones son maravillosas. Pareciera que cada esquina de la casa de la familia Daza tiene una historia detrás que el autor está dispuesto a contar. Finalmente, los personajes son bien definidos, claramente cambiantes y hay una justificación lógica a cada una de sus acciones, por más extravagantes que parezcan. Por tanto, el autor logra meternos a las mentes de los personajes y de vivir los escenarios extraordinarios en los que ha decidido ubicar esta obra de arte. Finalmente, se cuenta una historia de amor: la cosa más sencilla que uno pueda imaginar. Uno no puede mas que identificarse con los personajes, sabiendo y recordando la intensidad de algún amor platónico que hayamos sentido en nuestro pasado, la ruptura de un amor, la indiferencia de las personas que nos han amado y a quienes hemos decidido no corresponderles, y la estabilidad física, emocional y racional que sentimos cuando estamos en una relación. Aparte, el mundo en que viven los personajes, me recuerda mis mejores momentos en Costa Rica durante mi infancia. Para resumir, un libro cien por ciento recomendable, entretenido y muy distante de mis experiencias pasadas con el autor.

Pocos días después de acabar el libro, fui a ver la película. En los avances se mostraba, como principal atracción, el hecho de que Shakira había compuesto y cantaba varias de las canciones de la banda sonora de la película. La verdad es que es risible su presencia melódica, opacada por una excelente fotografía de montañas, selva y algún río. La dirección es impecable, aunque no puedo decir lo mismo de las actuaciones. Tal vez me haya molestado más el inglés con el que pretendían expresarse los personajes. No me molesta el inglés en una adaptación de una historia latinoamericana (nadie dijo nada cuando Julio César hablaba inglés en la obra clásica de Shakespeare). Me molesta que, si se decidió que los personajes hablaran inglés, no se respete ese lenguaje y que la pronunciación sea lo suficientemente notoria como para asesinar los momentos más dramáticos de la historia. Sin embargo, siento que la película no es más que una ilustración del libro. Como si los productores, los guionistas y el director se hubieran sentado y hubieran extraído los momentos más memorables de la novela y los hubieran entrelazado cronológicamente para crear la historia. En ese caso, siento que es exitosa en ese propósito. Yo no viví en esa época, pero siento que está bien ambientada: desde los carruajes que transportaban al Doctor Juvenal Urbino, hasta las casas maltrechas de las amantes de Florentino Ariza.

Mi calificación del libro: 95/100

Mi calificación de la película: 87/100(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2010 Mohamed Mostafa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

بدايةً ؛ الرواية عظيمة ، شخصياً أعتقد ذلك
و لكن ، قد أسمح لنفسى بخط بعض الملاحظات و التى قد لا تتعلق بالرواية
فى حد ذاتها - بشكلٍ موضوعى - بقدر ما تتعلق باستقبالى الشخصى - بشكل ذاتى - و حالتى النفسية أثناء قراءة الرواية ، و أنا أظن أننى أفعل ذلك بشكلٍ واعٍ
أولاً / الرواية قائمة على ثلاث شخصيات أساسية هم على حسب أهميتهم و حجمهم فى الرواية يمكن ترتيبهم كالآتى : 1- فيرمينا داثا ، 2- فلورنتينو إريثا ، 3- الدكتور خوفينال أوربينو
لذا فالرواية من ذلك النوع المتمركز حول أبطال واضحين بعينهم ، و يكاد دور الشخ...more بدايةً ؛ الرواية عظيمة ، شخصياً أعتقد ذلك
و لكن ، قد أسمح لنفسى بخط بعض الملاحظات و التى قد لا تتعلق بالرواية
فى حد ذاتها - بشكلٍ موضوعى - بقدر ما تتعلق باستقبالى الشخصى - بشكل ذاتى - و حالتى النفسية أثناء قراءة الرواية ، و أنا أظن أننى أفعل ذلك بشكلٍ واعٍ
أولاً / الرواية قائمة على ثلاث شخصيات أساسية هم على حسب أهميتهم و حجمهم فى الرواية يمكن ترتيبهم كالآتى : 1- فيرمينا داثا ، 2- فلورنتينو إريثا ، 3- الدكتور خوفينال أوربينو
لذا فالرواية من ذلك النوع المتمركز حول أبطال واضحين بعينهم ، و يكاد دور الشخصيات الجانبية الأخرى ينحصر فى فى إلقاء مزيد من الضوء على كنه و نفسية الشخصيات الثلاثة الأساسية
ثانياً / فكرة الرواية الأساسية بسيطة و واضحة و مكتشفة بعد أقل من مائة صفحة تقرأها ، و هى أن فلورنتينو إريثا فى زمن غابر عشق فيرمينا داثا و اعتقدت هى أنها تحبه ، ثم اكتشفت فجأةً أن ذلك وهم كبير ، و أن إريثا ليس إلا " رجلا بائس " ، فخلعت ربقة هذا العشق - الذى لم يستطع إريثا يوماً الفكاك من شركه - من عنقها ، ثم بعد ذلك تزوجت من الدكتور أوربينو ، و كان زواجاً تقليديا فى البداية ثم تحول إلى حب حقيقى فيما بعد ، و استمر زواجها منه نصف قرن ، انتهى بموت الدكتور أوربينو ، و ظهر فلورنتينو مرة أخرى ليعلن عن عشقه الأزلى الذى جثم على صدره و لم يتزحزح و لو للحظة ، تتهمه بالجنون فى البداية ، ثم فى فضاء وحدتها كأرملة عجوز تشعر أنها بحاجة إليه ، ثم تكتشف أنها بالفعل تحبه ، و تسلمه مفاتيحها ، لينتصر الحب فى النهاية

على ضوء الملاحظتين السابقتين أستطيع أن أسجل بعض الأفكار التى شغلت ذهنى بخصوص الرواية
1- الرواية ليست من ذلك النوع القائم على القص لأحداثٍ كثيرة بقدر ما هى قائمة على ترسيخ البعد الإنسانى ، بمعنى ، أن الأحداث الكثيرة التى ذكرت فى الرواية هدفها الأساسى هو إحداث الفعل التراكمى المحلى بمرور فترة - ليست قصيرة - من الزمن ، لتحدث ما يعرف بالشجن ، الشجن للفكرة الأساسية للرواية ، فكرة العشق الأزلى الذى يفنى كل ما و من حوله من أحداث و شخوص ، و يبقى هو متحدياً للزمن و لتغيراته
إلا اننى شعرت أن ماركيز كان حينما يصل إلى لحظات الشجن تلك ، كان يقتصد جدا فى حث المشاعر و العواطف على التحرك بكامل قواها ، إذ أنك - كما أظن - تجد أن السرد تحول - فى غير موضع - لسرد عقلانى موضوعى تحليلى ، و هو - برأيى - ما قد يفلت اللحظة من بين يديك
2- أعتقد أن الرواية بها تطويل نوعى ، كاد يفقد ضرورته ، خصوصا مع إصرار ماركيز - كما شعرت - على عدم الوصول بقلبك إلى لحظة الخفقان الهادرة
3- كما تتوقع - مع حلك لأحجية الرواية الأصلية - فإن الأربعين صفحة الأخيرة - كما أظن - هم الأروع على الإطلاق ، إذ أن بهما نتيجة التكثيف العاطفى الذى تم العمل له على مدار أربعمائة صفحة

ملاحظة أخيرة
الترجمة أكثر من رائعة ، شخصياً كنت أظن أن العمل المترجم داائما سيشعرك أنه مترجم - صارخا بذلك فى وجهك - مع كل حرف تقرأه
إلا أن صالح علمانى غير قناعتى تلك

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