Love in the Time of Cholera,   ISBN:9780141037455

Customer Rating: 

This book was awful. Like many readers, I persevered through the book thinking that there must be a reason for so much critical acclaim and the honor of being on Oprah's Book Club. It was a difficult read to say the least. Each progressive chapter made my skin crawl and made my blood boil. This book was not about love, but the illusion of love. It was a book about lust, rape, unrequited "love", seduction, molestation, depression, delusion, etc. There was no love in this book whatsoever. It seemed like everyone was so self obsessed with their own feelings and desires that they forgot to even love or care about each other. The marriage between Fermina Daza and Dr. Urbino was one out of stability (in her husband's own word), not happiness. Her rejection of Florentino Ariza was something that was simply explained as "not love" and her views about him was that he was nothing more than a shadow that one does not remember. Yet in the end, without rhyme or reason, they end up together. Was she mourning? I don't know. This book seemed like it was written by a man who once had an unrequited love, and he thought this was a worthy tribute to what he imagined would have happened. It was nothing more than a novel about a man with an unrequited love that "made him" into a passionless man with only a naive expectation that the love of his life would realize it one day and return to him. So he became an adulterer and child molester and found sex as his redemption or therapy to sooth his broken heart. This book was not about love, but a story about the mind and life of a determined stalker. I was so excited to finally read this book, but when I finished, I felt so let down.

Customer Rating: 

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have read many of Don Gabriel's books, but this one was special. If you want to learn about the Latin American experience and psyche, this book is for you. He delves into many of the painful truths of Latin America and ultimately we discover that it all comes back to the undying power of Love. That is love of life! Read it and you too will enjoy the journey of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza's love all captured by the brilliant story teller that is Don Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Salud!

Customer Rating: 

For all of the hype attributed to this story, I was looking forward to a timeless story of romance and passion. However, I was truly disappointed. The character of Florentino Ariza is pathetic and a pedophile. I could not get over his overtly selfish and lecherous behavior to be swept up by his obsession with Fermina Daza.

Customer Rating: 

Personally, I'm not a big fan of death, the elderly (because of its association with death), and classical novels (My anti-cliche tendencies). Yet after the first twenty pages, i found myself hooked. If you need a book with Imagery and no ambiguity about the setting, this is the book for you. I'm a theatre geek, and Maequez's imagery is genious. Almost every page, i could set up a scene and reenact it for you. From his mango tree to the office, it's impossible to read this book and not feel a sense of omnipresence. Also i don't like reading long novels, because i don't have time or they don't attract me, i usually read short stories with plithy. Yet, i found myself, procrastinating my math homework to read this book. Also, I don't like deaths, but Marquez doesn't make death seem like this gloomy thing, he kind of describes the deaths in the books as a poem or some romantic song. It sounds eccentric but when Dr. Urbino died, it wasn't like "How sad", it was like some slow song you hear on your way home.
Also, i just got out of a rough relationship, and reading this book gave me some weird hope in the male species. Florentino Azina is so adorable, and this love he's had for so long. It sounds cheesy but if you read it, Marquez phrases it so well. To all those ladies, who are in "I hate men" mode, this is the book for you. It's really pretty.
I haven't finished but after this, i'm going to read other Marquez books, because he's so good at writing romantic novels.

Customer Rating: 

This should be a UNIQUE review because I didn't bother to look at the other reviews.

The most POIGNANT thing to say about Love in the Time of Cholera is that OLD AGE is a constant, HEAVY theme throughout the book. (In fact it makes it a little difficult to get through.)

This book is wonderful in regard to the RICH Caribbean history it ties into the story. The best part of this story is simply the setup and the description of the locations and cultural ins and outs.

As for the characters...
They are described with a lot of detail, however not in a way that makes it easy to sympathize with them. In fact it was difficult to understand their motives (Fermina Daza will irritate you with how stubborn she is, and Florentino Ariza will seem pathetic, absolutely wasting the good years of his life on a stubborn woman who hasn't a thought of him!)

I DON'T think of this as a love story. (Love is a beautiful, amazing thing!) Fermina Daza never seems to be in love. She "settles" with her husband (Dr. Juvenal Urbino) and you never see her express love to her children. Florentino Ariza doesn't embody love - he has an OBSESSION for Fermina Daza.

So... Don't pick up this book if you are looking for a "love" story. Pick it up if you want to read a descriptive Caribbean tale. No one else could write this like Gabriel Garcia Marquez.