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Emily's review

Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9712.Love_in_the_Time_of_Cholera?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Love in the Time of Cholera" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166052341m/9712.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9712.Love_in_the_Time_of_Cholera?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Love in the Time of Cholera</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13450.Gabriel_Garcia_Marquez">Gabriel Garcia Marquez</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5232563?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 2 of 5 stars 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 between John Cusack and Gilbert Blythe, Love in the Time of Cholera is a tale of unrequited love. Florentino Ariza falls madly in love with Fermina Daza as a teenager, and worships her mercilessly from afar. When Florentino finally gets the courage to contact her, she accepts his attentions, and they begin a letter-writing affair with one another. When Fermina’s father finds out about their correspondence, he sends her to go live with cousins, and Florentino is heartbroken. When Fermina returns, she rebuffs Florentino, chalks up her affection for Florentino to a childhood crush, and is soon married to Juvenal Urbino, a young doctor. Throughout the years, Juvenal and Fermina have their triumphs and their disappointments, and through it all Florentino watches and waits patiently for Juvenal’s death, so he can reclaim his one true love. The onset of the novel is Juvenal’s death, and then the chapters that follow detail the events leading up to the doctor’s death.
 
 On to the scoring … a side note – the scoring this time is unapologetically FILLED with spoilers. Continue at your own risk.
 
 ** Florentino is creepy – maybe it’s because I am jaded, but he is obsessed and not in love – Minus 4
 
 ** Chapter length ... I’ve been over the importance of this factor many many times - - but they’re flat out ridiculous in this book. 350 pages and 6 or 7 chapters. UGH … cause it’s so terrible to have chapters in a book - Minus 3
 
 ** Beautiful narrative. The story flows nicely and you can feel the Caribbean town in the descriptions – Plus 4
 
 ** Juvenal seems to be a genuine person who loves his wife unconditionally. – Plus 3
 
 ** Juvenal has an affair, which makes him imperfect, and I appreciated that. Compared to Florentino’s constant reckless anonymous sex, I had a hard time not liking Juvenal – Plus 2
 
 ** I have no sympathy for Florentino living with unrequited love for decades. He’s sleazy. And reminds me of a stalker. – Minus 3
 
 ** Sara Noriega – one of Florentino’s lovers needs a pacifier in her mouth to have an orgasm. And she keeps them on the bed post - Plus 2 … cause a freaky kink is always appreciated
 
 ** “It is as if he were not a person but only a shadow.” – This are Fermina's thoughts on why she cannot love Florentino – Plus 3, I totally agree with this statement. He’s a shadow of a person, and I have a hard time having sympathy for him.
 
 ** I was so happy that Fermina originally rebuffs Florentino at the funeral. So inappropriate. I’m biased in this regard having had people offer to buy my grandmother’s house during her wake, something else so totally inappropriate. – Plus 5
 
 ** When Juvenal dies, Florentino is in his late 60s (roughly) and sleeping with a teenage girl … who he is guardian of in the eyes of the state. How am I supposed to like this guy? How am I supposed to feel bad for him that he’s been living with unrequited love for 50 years?? He just makes me feel ICKY! Add to the fact that she kills herself after Florentino leaves her for Fermina … he’s such an unlikable bastard! – Minus 10
 
 ** The first time that Florentino and Fermina are together, he’s got some ED action. It was great. It was justice. – Plus 3
 
 ** Fermina prepares a dish on the river boat called Eggplant al Amor. Loved it. I’m totally going to copy her the next time I make eggplant. – Plus 2
 
 ** Always referring to the characters by first and last name was kind of annoying. – Minus 2
 
 Plus 2 – Overall, it was a good book. The narrative was beautiful, and the descriptions were phenomenal. But I had a really hard time reading the book simply because the Florentino was such a scumbag. If not for the HBC, I would have quit despite the lyrical beauty.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/312939?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Emily's review
rating:
bookshelves: 2008-journey-to-30, funky-fiction, hersday-book-club, i-own-it

** spoiler alert ** 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 between John Cusack and Gilbert Blythe, Love in the Time of Cholera is a tale of unrequited love. Florentino Ariza falls madly in love with Fermina Daza as a teenager, and worships her mercilessly from afar. When Florentino finally gets the courage to contact her, she accepts his attentions, and they begin a letter-writing affair with one another. When Fermina’s father finds out about their correspondence, he sends her to go live with cousins, and Florentino is heartbroken. When Fermina r...more

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message 1: by Aimee

07/23/2008 06:25PM

Wow.... I am right with you on so many points. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt sort of jerked around by the structure of the story (that "this one's the best.... nope, this one) was totally aggravating.

I too had started this book about 5 times. I had to force myself to finish it (it was the Nobel Prize thing, who am I to hate a Nobel Prize winning author). It's silly to force yourself to read something, unless it's on a syllabus.... and I've been out of college for more than a decade...