Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

6 reviews

gabriella_'s review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Was anyone going to tell me there’s a

pedophilic relationship

in this or was I supposed to find out on my own? Genuinely left a disgusting taste in my mouth reading this. 

And why was there so much casual racism and bigoted language throughout the book? It was physically painful in a book that otherwise had a gripping prose (but was problematic, I smell misogyny). 

I don’t want to rate this because I feel so conflicted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Dementia, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, and Stalking

cait's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Classism, Dementia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Incest, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism

strabbyfieldz's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i would've adored this book were it not for the bit about América Vicuña and all the other uncomfortable or wrong elements like the racism (I could be wrong but man, some of the descriptions of the Black characters felt anti-Black and also one of the main protags was like fairly racist???). Regardless of messaging or whatever with América, it felt pointless, uncomfortable as heck and rendered the touching(??) love story of the main protagonists much less easy to root for freely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death, War, Racism, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, Animal death, Dementia, and Misogyny

lunaliz's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Racial slurs, Pedophilia, and Racism

Minor: Slavery, Dementia, and Suicide

sommer22's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

CW: p*dophilia

The writing in this book is beautiful, although at some points the narrative felt like it was dragging and others I couldn't put it down. The biggest problem I have with this book is its main character. Florentino Ariza is so consumed by his love for Fermina Daza that he ignores the potential consequences of his actions and does not hold himself accountable for them once they come to fruition.

In his bid to rise to the top of the Riverboat Company as a way to gain enough status as Fermina, he causes deforestation along the Magdalena River, destroying the ecosystems and livelihoods of the people within and surrounding it. He also grooms and takes advantage of a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD, and barely bats an eye when she commits suicide in the aftermath of their relationship.

He takes advantage of so many people and things and thinks of women, including Fermina, in such a misogynistic, flippant, and exploitative way that was really frustrating to read. I was not rooting for him by the end, and as Fermina was my favorite character,

I hate how they ended up together after he essentially stalked her for his entire life.

This book is very heavy-handed with symbolism (cholera, the river, taking journeys) and has an interesting narrative structure. It's portioned into larger sections, rather than individual chapters, which in my opinion was very immersive, and it made me feel the time passing as each character went through their lives. The majority of this story is also told in a flashback with past-within-the-past references, which adds to its narrative uniqueness. As I said, Márquez uses very beautiful, immersive imagery that makes each setting distinctive, but my dislike of the main character is my biggest reason for the low rating.

This book aims to represent love in many different forms, but the incarnation that is meant to be its centerpiece is instead very toxic, unsettling, and hard to ignore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape and Suicide

My biggest problem with Florentino Ariza is that he is a p*dophile. He has a sexual relationship with a fourteen-year-old girl who is related to him when he is a 70-year-old man. It made me physically ill to read. He realizes the error of his ways, but not in a way that inspires forgiveness.

Sex is also a major theme in this book, and I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who has a problem with semi-graphic sexuality.

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Suicide