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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
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.
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 andonce 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.)
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Stalking
Moderate: Classism
Minor: War and Alcohol
julietfirth'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism
ghost_thorns's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexism, and Racism
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.
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
dlindberg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Sexism and Racism
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
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
sarahandika's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
One thing I didn’t expect when I got into this book, was the number of times I would read a seemingly casually written paragraph and ask myself, ‘what the actual f***?)
Love in the Time of Cholera is the story of the lives of Fermina and Florentino as they intertwined with each other, spanning over decades, filled with nostalgia, longing, lost loves, the passing of time and a snapshot of times past within the Colombian setting. Decades past, Fermina rejected her first love Florentino, instead choosing to marry another. Determined to win her back, Florentino waits over 50 years until the death of her husband and then sets about to declare his undying love for her and win her back.
“ …he made a fierce decision to win fame and fortune in order to deserve her. He did not even stop to think about the obstacle of her being married, because at the same time he decided, as if it depended on himself alone, that Dr. Juvenal Urbino had to die. He did not know when or how, but he considered it an ineluctable event that he was resolved to wait for without impatience or violence, even till the end of time.”
Around 30% into the book, I had the feeling I had been catfished by its synopsis. I had imagined I was getting into a book about star crossed lovers and I romanticized the oncoming second chance romance, only to realize the book is more accurately about an unhinged delusional man who couldn’t resign himself to the idea that his teenage crush was ‘just not that into him.’
At the beginning, I thought I ought to be rooting for Fermina and Florentino. I, similar to Florentino, even just viewed Dr. Urbino as the NPC in their lives, a character I should have been waiting for to die, so that the other two can continue with their story. And then I read along and pity for the failed romance of Fermina and Florentino turned into pity for him when she rejected him, then turned into amazement at his delusion and his refusal to get over her, then turned into disgust as more and more of his character was revealed. And it had me wondering the whole time, whether the author actually intended for us to root for a man who casually engages in rape and grooming as if it was nothing and uses unrequited love as an excuse for all his immoral behaviour.
And he fucking gets away with it all and gets his happy ending while everyone else suffers the consequences of his emotional apathy towards them. I excused the casual racism and sexism throughout the book as a consequence of past times, but I can’t get over the ick that became Florentino by the end of the book. And I find it so weird and confusing that the book ultimately just aims to conclude the love story of the two as if the author has not just made it all feel so uncomfortable and wrong.
Characters and plot aside, this was also my first experience with a Gabriel Márquez book. I chose this, after being warned that One Hundred Years of Solitude is a difficult read and decided to slowly familiarize myself with the author through his other works. I am not sure if his style of writing is consistent in his other works, but I was not a big fan of it in this instance. The meandering style of writing where a story begins at one point then just randomly spawns sub stories and more until you forget where you started or where you are going plus the arbitrary introduction of new characters as if they were old ones kept giving me whiplash. Adding on top so many references to past Colombian history that made me feel like I was at times fighting for my life to understand where the story was going.
Overall, I can excuse a book needing more time to be digested and be fully understood. But I hated the evolution and conclusion of the plot line.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Racism, and Rape
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
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