dark reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

La manera en la que GGM escribe es implacable. Pero, ¿qué onda con la historia?...


Ele me faz amar estar dentro de mim por conseguir sentir o que eu sinto quando leio o que ele escreve.

What else can I say about such a masterful writer? Again, he has written a gem with this one. It is beautifully and painfully written at the same time.

It was so good I can't even deal with it.

Beautifully written, didn’t care for the story. Summary: an isolated old man who’s exchanged human interaction for a sense of superiority in the form of erudite taste, afraid of dying alone, invents a romance with a naked prepubescent as a way to atone for his ineptness at human connection and because he’s afraid of dying alone. It’s a story of male fragility, entitlement, and ego at its most extreme. Bleh.

The author uses dazzling and graceful prose to draw you into the world of a 90 year old man who falls in love for the very first time in his life. The only reason why I don’t give this one 4 stars is because I would have liked a glimpse of the love interest’s POV.
challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I’m kinda torn. One part of me is like, “This is nonsense.” The other side of me feels like something was communicated on a deep level that could not have been communicated any other way. I love Haruki Murakami’s books. When I read Sputnik Sweetheart I felt that Murakami was writing to your conscious brain, a story to keep it interested. Then on another level he’s communicating something to our “dream brain” that’s not so apparent. This Garcia Marquez book does the same but I felt it was a little unsatisfying. There needed to be a little more reality so that I could accept the magic. Estaba un poco nublado para mí.

Having said all that, I’ll still give it a four cause it’s definitely above a three.

Una lettura che mi suscita sentimenti contrastanti: da una parte la repulsione per un vecchio puttaniere incallito, dall'altra la compassione per un uomo che è quasi giunto alla fine dei suoi giorni ma resta sospeso in quel limbo che si crea dopo una certa età in cui la maggioranza dei propri coetanei è passata a miglior vita.
Inevitabilmente è tempo di bilanci e di follie, come quella di concedersi una notte di passione con una vergine. E inevitabilmente il protagonista, che non ha mai fatto l'amore se non a pagamento, si innamora follemente della fanciulla che gli viene proposta. Ma più che della ragazza, che non vede se non addormentata, egli si innamora dell'amore e si concede di provare quei sentimenti che non ha mai vissuto per paura o per timidezza.
dark reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Márquez has a beautiful writing style, it's just a shame that the main character, though realistically as a 90-year-old, doesn't change or develop through the story, and is genuinely an awful person from start to finish. The ending was unsatisfying, and not in a way that makes for a good book. If it wasn't for the very rich imagery and realistic imagination of a detestable character, I would rate this book lower.

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