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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Excellent.
This book is pretty slow in my opinion, it was OK, but I had a hard time relating to the characters.
Beautifully written. Hated absolutely everything else about it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautiful and complicated love story that is more a story about love than a straightforward romance. Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall in love as adolescents, exchanging letters in secret to avoid the interference of Fermina’s father. When he discovers their romance, he does everything in his power to split them up, but ultimately, the romance is snuffed out by Fermina’s realization that she was more in love with the idea of her lover than she was with him. She goes on to marry a wealthy and connected doctor, but Florentino never loses his obsession with her, and when her husband dies, he re-declares his love.
This is an artfully written novel with many vivid scenes of Caribbean splendor and squalor (hence the cholera), and wise insights into the human condition. I also thought the metaphor of the river — dried and damaged almost beyond recognition by the ravages of the riverboat industry — was a brilliant analogy for Florentino’s obsession with Fermina, to the detriment of everyone else around him. I really did not enjoy seeing Florentino succeed, even very belatedly. He’s a horrible person who sexually abuses more than a few women who cross his path, including a May-December affair (maybe more like February-December) with a 14-year-old who commits suicide after he grooms, abuses, then spurns her. I hate to see a guy with sexual ethics worse than Woody Allen get a dub, even 50+ years late… now this is a man who deserves 100 years of solitude.
This is an artfully written novel with many vivid scenes of Caribbean splendor and squalor (hence the cholera), and wise insights into the human condition. I also thought the metaphor of the river — dried and damaged almost beyond recognition by the ravages of the riverboat industry — was a brilliant analogy for Florentino’s obsession with Fermina, to the detriment of everyone else around him. I really did not enjoy seeing Florentino succeed, even very belatedly. He’s a horrible person who sexually abuses more than a few women who cross his path, including a May-December affair (maybe more like February-December) with a 14-year-old who commits suicide after he grooms, abuses, then spurns her. I hate to see a guy with sexual ethics worse than Woody Allen get a dub, even 50+ years late… now this is a man who deserves 100 years of solitude.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Dementia, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, Pregnancy
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Love portrayed as a disease, masquerading in many forms, like obsession, delusion, concession, and loss, as lived over time through some of the most complex, beautifully flawed characters I've ever read. And although it took me the first full chapter for the prose and tale to "click," García Márquez's writing (as translated by Grossman) was pure escapism and introspection.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes