Love in the Time of Cholera in The Roundtable

Mar 29, 2020 Camelia Rose rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, historical-fiction, location-latin-american

No, Love in the Time of Cholera is not "one of the greatest love stories" as per Oprah Winfrey and many fans. It's not about love at all. It's about obsession, the mad, selfish, sick obsession. Florentino Ariza, who can never get over his adolescent crush, uses his obsession for Fermina Daza to justify his lifelong womanizing. His so-called "affair" with a 14 years old school girl, who is entrusted to him by her parents and late kills herself after being abandoned, is horrifying and very disturb No, Love in the Time of Cholera is not "one of the greatest love stories" as per Oprah Winfrey and many fans. It's not about love at all. It's about obsession, the mad, selfish, sick obsession. Florentino Ariza, who can never get over his adolescent crush, uses his obsession for Fermina Daza to justify his lifelong womanizing. His so-called "affair" with a 14 years old school girl, who is entrusted to him by her parents and late kills herself after being abandoned, is horrifying and very disturbing to read. While the author occasionally calls Florentino Ariza a hunter, a seducer, some of his conducts "assaults", and some of the women his "victims", he continues to describe him as a lover with great endurance. The book that romanticizing pedophile and rape was published in 1985. It is not even that old. Márquez has no excuse at all. In the light of modern feminism, how this can still be a great love story is beyond me.

However, Márquez is indeed a master storyteller. Fermina Daza, from a dreamy adolescent to a successful society woman, is well depicted. Her marriage to Dr. Juvenal Urbino is pictured in broad brushstrokes--the ups and downs, the passion and the routine, the mutual dependency, lots of compromise and the occasional betrayal. Fermina Daza knew very well the consequence of her life choice. At the beginning of her widowhood, she reflects: “She wanted to be herself again, to recover all that she had been obliged to give up in half a century of servitude that had doubtless made her happy but which, once her husband was dead, did not leave her even the vestiges of her identity.” The seeking of identity leads her to rebel against her class and eventually accepts Florentino Ariza.

The book offers insights of conditions of upper class women in the historical era. Example: "But in those solitary Masses they began to be aware that once again they were mistresses of their fate, after having renounced not only their family name but their own identity in exchange for a security that was no more than another of a bride's many illusions." And this: "For women there were only two ages: the age for marrying, which did not go past twenty-two, and the age for being eternal spinsters: the ones left behind. Despite her social standing, a woman choice is limited. Márquez's women in the book are those who stay inside the traditional womanhood--someone to have sex with, to romanticize with, to mange a household and bear children, and to look after men in their old age.

Leona Cassiani is an exception. Described as “the true woman of [Florentino’s] life”, Leona Cassiani is an intelligent and capable "mulatta" who later became the second-in-command of the River Company of the Caribbean, always friendly and supportive but never having developed a romantic relationship with Florentino. However, Leona's ideal man is the man who raped her when she was a young girl.

What I do like is the beautiful depiction of time and place in this historical novel. The fictional Caribbean city of the early 20th century became alive under Marquez's pen--the fragrance and the vibrant color of flowers (camellia, rose and gardenia), the stench of the city, the noise of the market, the strikes of the Cathedral bell, the bodies lying on the river bank and in the cotton fields. There are many small yet enriching details. For example, the Chinese poet who won the poetry competition with his beautiful sonata and the reaction among colonial attendants; Dr. Urbino correcting his wife that his lover was not a "black woman" but a "mulatta".

Some books can only be enjoyed at certain age or certain time in history--Love in the Time of Cholera is one of them. ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2016 Gill rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

What a lovely book. I should have read this years ago!

Beautiful, lush language and an intriguing tale. There was much more humour than I was expecting. At times it felt like Lake Wobegon Days, transferred to Columbia. I found the final section very moving. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2019 Viv JM rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: author-male, z2019-atw-trans-lit-genre-challenge, z2019-atw-challenge, in-translation, read-in-2019, 1001-books-project, fiction-classic

Things I liked about this book: the sensual writing, the sumptuous descriptions, the unexpected humour, the strength of character of Fermina (who was considerably more interesting than either Florentino or Juvenal Urbino). Things I didn't like about this book: the elevation of a creepy obsession to status of True Love and the general rapey/paedophilia vibe (in particular (view spoiler) ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Wendy rated it it was ok

Shelves: blooms-western-canon, literary-fiction, banned-books, in-translation, audiobooks, 1001-books, twisted-love

Upon finishing this, my main feeling is that of exhaustion. I'm puzzled because One Hundred Years of Solitude is a much longer book, but I found myself much more engaged, and those many pages went by much more quickly. Solitude is a bit more crazy, anecdotal and magical, while this, while often brimming with lovely imagery, was ultimately more plodding and needlessly digressive. Also (though unrelated to my rating) LitToC is much higher on the "realism" and substitutes "somewhat exaggerated" for ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 16, 2009 Meghan rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, favorites, spanish, dmbc, book-club, tnbbc, award-winning

Reading this book is like taking a riverboat cruise down the Magdalena River; it is slow, often plodding, sometimes sluggish, but always was my breath taken by the beauty of this world. In this splendid novel is not the epic romance one normally runs across in an age where love is a dime a dozen, but rather, you are swept up in an ageless love story that spans a lifetime--something that is solid and real, ugly yet true.

Reading the dust jacket, I was led to believe this was a story about Florenti ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2015 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: atw-globetrotter, audio, 1001-books, 2015-reads

I'm so pleased I read Marquez again, after having read One Hundred Years of Solitude so long ago that I can't remember it. But I do recall loving it. I like this a lot too, though I think the 'wow' factor I experienced as a teen from this ornate, expansive style of storytelling has less impact on me now. But he is a wonderful writer, and I adore how he treats sex and love between people of all ages with candid humour and respect. There really isn't enough of that, at least in the books I read.

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2012 Heather(Gibby) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-to-read

This is a really great book! It has some really great insights into human relationships, and love, and marriage, not love and marriage, as this book shows they don't neccessarily go hand and hand. There are some great quotes from this book, that I am going to track down and record, later, but just wanted to get donw my rating, and first impressions here for now. ...more

Like · see review

Apr 09, 2022 Joey Anderson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Incredibly good novel of the love story of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza that occurs over fifty years. The tale winds slowly and calmly as if the reader were on a long riverboat cruise. The reader will not know the meaning of the title until the last scene.

Like · see review