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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Writing style is commendable, but this book was not enjoyable for me. Honestly I am left feeling sick.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
I want to pretend this is just a “book of a different era” but an old ass man having sex with a 14 year old (whose diapers he changed!!!!!) is just too insane to ignore. If not for that, I think this would have been a more palatable read. If you just ignore that nugget, it’s a semi interesting view of different types of love throughout decades.
A complete male fantasy! I’m not surprised the critics who praise this book are all men. The “hero,” Florentine Ariza, seduces women right and left throughout the story (despite his abiding fervent love for Fermina Daza), even though — as is revealed gradually — he dresses shabbily in grandfather-style clothes, is completely bald, has had all his teeth pulled out, and suffers from severe constipation. The women are all so pleased to sleep with him, even helping give him enemas! Hardly any pregnancies are mentioned as a result (a few crop up, just as asides; he is uninterested, apparently). I was horrified by his grooming and seduction — while in his 70s, no less — of a fourteen-year-old girl in his charge, yet, instead of being destroyed by this (at first, at least), she “flowers”! Near the very end, there’s a casual mention that he raped and impregnated a maid, implying it was okay as he then gave her a house to live in. Disgusting rubbish, even if sometimes lyrically described.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
A mastery of prose
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
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:
Yes
I loved the book so much - the language, the masterful placement of symbolic items, ideas, and events, all came together to make a fantastic experience.
We shall not talk about the fact that it took me two months to complete.
We shall not talk about the fact that it took me two months to complete.