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gadicohen93's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes this was good, sometimes this was shockingly bad. The writing was elaborate, juicy, so sweet it was almost rancid at parts, dipping into self-caricature, with lines so dramatic and eager that they felt kind of -- amateur? The plot had few redemptive qualities. Florentino was despicable, wholly uninteresting, whereas Fermina seemed cold. I didn't ship them. The beginning (the Doctor investigating his friend's murder [which sadly never was brought up again]) and ending were beautiful. On the whole, despite some lovely prose and passionate storytelling, this book suffered most from the failure to grasp what makes a good, compelling main character.
andoayumi's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
doiread's review against another edition
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
savaging's review against another edition
2.0
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is so skilled at telling a story. And I was charmed to realize the subject was just a lot of love and a lot of sex, not any big macho narrative. But as I continued reading, the characters became increasingly horrifying to me.
I love that this is a romance novel where everyone's a real body, with digestion problems and unpleasant odors. But when this "well people are imperfect" stance extended to racism, pedophilia, rape, misogyny...I no longer saw these characters as charming deep down underneath it all, and I lost all interest in the plot.
I love that this is a romance novel where everyone's a real body, with digestion problems and unpleasant odors. But when this "well people are imperfect" stance extended to racism, pedophilia, rape, misogyny...I no longer saw these characters as charming deep down underneath it all, and I lost all interest in the plot.
mollyjones's review against another edition
3.0
Well written but there are some very questionable parts of the book that leave me unable to give it any more than three stars.
zonyax's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
reneelewis22's review against another edition
1.0
The main character is a rapist and pedophile. No. thank you. Marquez's writing style did not redeem the characters.
minchiela's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
3.5
danielkallin04's review against another edition
4.0
The first fifty pages of this book are perfect. The rest of the novel is brilliant too but Marquez does not ever recreate the brilliant experience of reading the last day of Juvenal Urbino's life, smelling the bitter almonds, reading his novels, feeling his old age pains. He is only a transitory character, if the protagonist of the novel is really a fifty-three-year unrequited love. It's a book about destructive urges - of boats which consume the forests they run through until there is no more forest - of new loves which can only stem the invasive thoughts about old loves for just a moment.
Unlike 100 Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera focuses on only a few people, and it feels more homely and intimate in its storytelling. Even if much of the novel is just Florentino Ariza's numerous sexual exploits, the writing is so beautiful as to render the content of the sentences to be only half as important as the splendor of the words themselves.
Cholera and love may be much the same disease, but Marquez's writing makes the pain of the latter seem just about bearable for the brief moments of pleasure and solace it can eventually bring.
Unlike 100 Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera focuses on only a few people, and it feels more homely and intimate in its storytelling. Even if much of the novel is just Florentino Ariza's numerous sexual exploits, the writing is so beautiful as to render the content of the sentences to be only half as important as the splendor of the words themselves.
Cholera and love may be much the same disease, but Marquez's writing makes the pain of the latter seem just about bearable for the brief moments of pleasure and solace it can eventually bring.