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silviss's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
dmwfish's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
ahmed_suliman's review against another edition
3.0
Idk if it's was the author's intelligence or it's the translator's, I know it was written in spanish but I read it in English and the language was so great concerning the narration style.
I've much judgements on the story, but in it was one of the best novels dealing with romantic feelings regardless the row you're taking, whether it's illusion or the end of the end.
I liked many quotes and that's one of them ;
"He was still too young to know that the heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past."
Eventually, I wish I could say that Florentino Aríza was a very perfect example for loyality but the hundreds of women he became with object.
I've much judgements on the story, but in it was one of the best novels dealing with romantic feelings regardless the row you're taking, whether it's illusion or the end of the end.
I liked many quotes and that's one of them ;
"He was still too young to know that the heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past."
Eventually, I wish I could say that Florentino Aríza was a very perfect example for loyality but the hundreds of women he became with object.
francescasleet's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
nomadaliteraria's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cwback's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
tanishatantan97's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
Stupid book, that wasted a lot of my time trying to finish because I CAN'T leave a book unfinished
juanlli's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jess_mango's review against another edition
5.0
A stunningly beautiful novel with one of my favorite first sentences ever. At its core, "Love in the Time of Cholera" is about one thing: love.
I've been warned away from the recently released film version though. Its a shame when they go and ruin wonderful books when they translate them to film. tsk tsk.
I've been warned away from the recently released film version though. Its a shame when they go and ruin wonderful books when they translate them to film. tsk tsk.
leastrawberryfields's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going to do my best to make this a coherent review rather than a rant. This review contains very minor spoilers.
1.5/5 stars, but that is being generous.
***TW / CW (all of these occur in the book, and so are addressed in my review): mentions of sexual assault, misogyny, racism, grooming, and emotional abuse***
I'll start with the positive: in general, the prose was good. I read the English translation, as my A1/A2 Spanish level definitely wasn't going to cut it for this. While I can't compare it to the original, from what I could tell it was a very good translation, because most of the prose still read quite beautifully. I was impressed especially with the vivid descriptions of the setting. The main reason why I read this book is because I adore Colombia; it is one of the greatest places I have ever visited, and I learned a bit about the life and work of Garcia Marquez when I visited, so I wanted to read his best-known work. While many of the exact locations in the book are fictional, they are clearly inspired by the Colombian coast and that was cool to read about.
As for everything else... well, I very strongly disliked the characters and the story. All of the main characters are terrible people, especially Florentino Ariza; that in and of itself isn't the issue — the issue is that it feels like the reader is supposed to sympathize with and root for these characters. While I understand that the theme of the book could arguably be that Florentino Ariza's feelings were not love, but unhealthy obsession, I don't feel that his actions were portrayed in a sufficiently negative light and he was not properly called out by the narrative... and he did some pretty awful things, including but not limited to sexual assault (of a minor!! who he was the legal guardian of!!), stalking, grooming, extreme possessiveness, and emotional abuse. Despite his being horrible, creepy, abusive, and all the bad things... somehow the narrative still rewards Florentino Ariza by giving him what he wants. I cannot get behind that.
There is also a LOT of racism and misogyny throughout the book, and that obviously made it less enjoyable to read. Most of the women in the story are treated like objects by the men. Additionally, the way women are described throughout the story (especially from Florentino Ariza's perspective) just makes it so painfully obvious that this book was written by a man, and it is disgusting. Iykyk. This was the main way in which the prose faltered. Sexual assault in general is also very normalized in this book; I can think of at least three separate instances where that happens but the narrative doesn't seem to find fault with it. In some cases, it is even glorified.
Overall, I just couldn't get behind this story and its incredibly creepy protagonist, and the racism and sexism was really rampant. This book was not for me. I rounded it up to 2 stars because the prose itself was good overall, but I still question this choice because the story itself was so bad.
1.5/5 stars, but that is being generous.
***TW / CW (all of these occur in the book, and so are addressed in my review): mentions of sexual assault, misogyny, racism, grooming, and emotional abuse***
I'll start with the positive: in general, the prose was good. I read the English translation, as my A1/A2 Spanish level definitely wasn't going to cut it for this. While I can't compare it to the original, from what I could tell it was a very good translation, because most of the prose still read quite beautifully. I was impressed especially with the vivid descriptions of the setting. The main reason why I read this book is because I adore Colombia; it is one of the greatest places I have ever visited, and I learned a bit about the life and work of Garcia Marquez when I visited, so I wanted to read his best-known work. While many of the exact locations in the book are fictional, they are clearly inspired by the Colombian coast and that was cool to read about.
As for everything else... well, I very strongly disliked the characters and the story. All of the main characters are terrible people, especially Florentino Ariza; that in and of itself isn't the issue — the issue is that it feels like the reader is supposed to sympathize with and root for these characters. While I understand that the theme of the book could arguably be that Florentino Ariza's feelings were not love, but unhealthy obsession, I don't feel that his actions were portrayed in a sufficiently negative light and he was not properly called out by the narrative... and he did some pretty awful things, including but not limited to sexual assault (of a minor!! who he was the legal guardian of!!), stalking, grooming, extreme possessiveness, and emotional abuse. Despite his being horrible, creepy, abusive, and all the bad things... somehow the narrative still rewards Florentino Ariza by giving him what he wants. I cannot get behind that.
There is also a LOT of racism and misogyny throughout the book, and that obviously made it less enjoyable to read. Most of the women in the story are treated like objects by the men. Additionally, the way women are described throughout the story (especially from Florentino Ariza's perspective) just makes it so painfully obvious that this book was written by a man, and it is disgusting. Iykyk. This was the main way in which the prose faltered. Sexual assault in general is also very normalized in this book; I can think of at least three separate instances where that happens but the narrative doesn't seem to find fault with it. In some cases, it is even glorified.
Overall, I just couldn't get behind this story and its incredibly creepy protagonist, and the racism and sexism was really rampant. This book was not for me. I rounded it up to 2 stars because the prose itself was good overall, but I still question this choice because the story itself was so bad.