Reviews tagging 'War'

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

22 reviews

imoran's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

Florentino Ariza has a kill count higher than Anakin Skywalker

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual harassment, War, Sexism, and Pregnancy

ahanky's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexism

Minor: War

madelynfrank's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have so many thoughts about this book as probably a lot of people had? Was FA supposed to be gross right? Very gross. Prose is beautiful and often funny. Plot and characters all flow between each other in time which I really enjoyed. Felt very tangential like a story. Racism/sexism/pedophilia was a bummer but I guess to be expected. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia

Moderate: Death, Classism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, War, Medical content, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, and Racism

co32minus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

CW and expectation setting for future readers: there is a significant amount of misogynoir (derogatory descriptions and speach about black women), and pedophilia in this book. It's set in Columbia during the cholera epidemic, the main characters are rich, and it was written in the 1980s. The tone reflects that.

Aside from those criticisms overall I'd say this book was decent, I'd be curious to read it in the original Spanish where I'm sure the poetry sings louder. The writing is very fluid, ebbing and flowing from one thought to the next which creates an interesting sensation of being told this story orally, or as if it's being recounted from an old memory (which fits the themes of love and age). It was personally harder for me to read because the chapters were so long I would have to stop reading in the middle of a thought and pick up later. I didn't feel particularly compelled by any of the characters, the dynamic of their youth was interesting and

once Fermina and Florentino reconnected as older people I really enjoyed their reflections on living and what it means to love after so much of your life has passed.

But I felt pretty on edge throughout the entire thing waiting for Fermina to give consent to Florentino who was obsessed with her and didn't take responsibility for his own emotions. I also expected cholera to be a bigger factor haha, but I think th  book is more about "the time of" and not cholera. I think generally it's not my genre, I'm not a big fan of low stakes long form romance, but for those who love sustained longing you'd probably love this book (if the misogynoir and pedophilia don't turn you away.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Stalking

Moderate: Classism

Minor: War and Alcohol

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another stunning novel by one of the most talented authors to ever existed. Within the social commentary, magical realism, and class dynamics, there is also an incredible amount of heart. I would highly, highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Terminal illness, Racism, Infidelity, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Death

annatan's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Stalking, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, War, Grief, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent and Forced institutionalization

wellyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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? It's complicated

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Sexism, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Infidelity, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Animal death, Child abuse, War, Racism, Suicide, and Sexual assault

becksus's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.75

This was tough. I like the way it was written and the world with it's various characters, as it reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude (which I enjoyed). I even liked Fermina Daza to an extent. But God, I hate Florentino Ariza. What a creepy sad man (and a pedophile too!). I was not rooting for him to get "the girl", so it was a weird experience to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: War

Minor: Death and Grief

hunkydory's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Racism, and Rape

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and War

saffytriesherbest's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Look it’s got some really well written sections but holy moly trigger warning for assault- there are too many moments that are romanticised it seemed as if by the end of the novel Florentino could’ve been friends with Humbert Humbert

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Racial slurs

Minor: Gore, War, and Child abuse