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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
fast-paced
I felt cheated when I finished this book. I think Garcia Marquez needs a large format novel to finish his stories. I suppose that means that part of what I like about his novels are the characters, and their far reaching interconnected lives. I like the regality of his macho characters because there is nobility in them, and in their female counterparts. If this novella is supposed to be some kind of reckoning with the past then he should have spent more time on it. Instead he use the same old plot structure, but abbreviated it, and sent it to a publisher so that he could work on his Living to Tell the Tale series. If you're going to write and autobiography, then do that, don't couch some scratch and sniff throw away story with nebulous meanings in a hard back and throw it to the masses. Ugh. Damn it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin."
I read the opening line of this book and thought: Nabokov eat your heart out. Is this something I will be able to finish? Yet to my surprise and delight, as much as this book is about an old man falling in obsessive love and pursuing a young girl, it is not Lolita. Okay, maybe a little but not really.
It's a tender and hilarious (like laugh out loud) recounting of a 90-year-old man's lifetime of sexual pursuits that's more about his failings than his successes. Plus this is Marquez were talking about so the writing is out of this world.
I was so worried about being offended by toxic masculinity the first time I read it that about halfway through I realized I was missing out on the subtlety of the humor and astuteneness inherent in his reflections on the human condition. So I read it again (it's short) and I'm really glad I did.
By the time I put it down for the second time, I realized some of you read rom-coms to warm your hearts. I read this. Here are more gems:
"I returned home tormented by the little demon who whispers into our ears the devastating replies we didn't give at the right time."
"Sex is the consolation you have when you can't have love."
I read the opening line of this book and thought: Nabokov eat your heart out. Is this something I will be able to finish? Yet to my surprise and delight, as much as this book is about an old man falling in obsessive love and pursuing a young girl, it is not Lolita. Okay, maybe a little but not really.
It's a tender and hilarious (like laugh out loud) recounting of a 90-year-old man's lifetime of sexual pursuits that's more about his failings than his successes. Plus this is Marquez were talking about so the writing is out of this world.
I was so worried about being offended by toxic masculinity the first time I read it that about halfway through I realized I was missing out on the subtlety of the humor and astuteneness inherent in his reflections on the human condition. So I read it again (it's short) and I'm really glad I did.
By the time I put it down for the second time, I realized some of you read rom-coms to warm your hearts. I read this. Here are more gems:
"I returned home tormented by the little demon who whispers into our ears the devastating replies we didn't give at the right time."
"Sex is the consolation you have when you can't have love."
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
honestly i wish the old guy was more of a pervert
this was my gabriel garcía márquez introduction lol perhaps i will try one of the better known books next time. the writing was nice!
this was my gabriel garcía márquez introduction lol perhaps i will try one of the better known books next time. the writing was nice!
A good read, but very short. Some of Marquez's fantastic storytelling peaks through, but the book ends before he (or maybe just me) really gets rolling.
loved it, but then I've enjoyed everything he's written that I've read.
emotional
informative
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's light and mostly pleasant, but it has all the energy of Marquez books. It chooses an unusual character for a love novel and then gives an unusual love story. And as it is the case with most of his stories, the ending is not necessarily the point, it's all about the process and the journey that you will walk with Marquez and his characters. I also admire how he centers the story so perfectly around his main character, he is not just the narrator of the book but the whole book is his internal journey. He doesn't introduce himself, he doesn't tell you why he is telling this story and you will not really here other characters' point of view. No it is about this 90 year old lover and about him alone.
Es diferente de lo usual. El estilo mágico se permea a través de las páginas como es regla con este autor, pero a diferencia del resto de su obra esta en primera persona.
Esto es algo particular, y me duele un poco admitir que lo prefiero más con su usual estilo omnisciente. Me duele un poco admitir tal cosa porque sé que esta fue uno de las últimas cosas que escribió mi tocayo, y de una forma bien extraña siento que le dolería si le dijera en persona que prefiero su viejo estilo.
He leído tantas cosas de el, que de cierta forma siento que lo conozco. Sé que es ingenuo, pero cada una de sus historias me hablaban personalmente, y aún que nunca lo conocí, de cierta forma sé que tengo un cachito de el reservado en ese lugar especial de mi librero, el cual nunca abandonará.
Esto es algo particular, y me duele un poco admitir que lo prefiero más con su usual estilo omnisciente. Me duele un poco admitir tal cosa porque sé que esta fue uno de las últimas cosas que escribió mi tocayo, y de una forma bien extraña siento que le dolería si le dijera en persona que prefiero su viejo estilo.
He leído tantas cosas de el, que de cierta forma siento que lo conozco. Sé que es ingenuo, pero cada una de sus historias me hablaban personalmente, y aún que nunca lo conocí, de cierta forma sé que tengo un cachito de el reservado en ese lugar especial de mi librero, el cual nunca abandonará.