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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I don’t normally leave reviews here but I feel compelled to leave one for this book. I actually hated this book and that is rare for me. I also finished reading it because I don’t like starting and not finishing. So that why I read through 300+ pages of a book I truly disliked. I don’t see how this book is about love. The pining character is so awful, in my opinion he is a vile, obsessed stalker. There are so many awful things that he does and that happen to other characters in this book that are named or described as love and are far from it! I wish I had read reviews and been warned before I started it.
This novel has a depth and poignancy that I knew to expect, but didn't fully anticipate going in. From the very beginning, this novel is a love story, but of a kind that I've never come across before. I don't like I'll ever read a book like this, maybe ever. The love depicted comes in so many forms, a few I understand but many more that I don't. I'd be very curious to hear what people older than me have to say, they may understand it far better than me.
There's a lot I could say about this book, but I don't know how to say any of it.
There's a lot I could say about this book, but I don't know how to say any of it.
challenging
dark
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
Gorgeous writing, unlikable characters, whose actions are hard to support, although it appears you should. It’s hard to rate this beautifully written book because the characters are so difficult to get behind. I loved the writing and can see the purpose, but would be challenged to recommend
This is simply one of those books that everyone should read. Marquez's poetic prose can be difficult to get into if you, like me, are often reading in short snippets of time. Eventually it comes though and you find yourself engrossed in the details, awaiting the next scene. And oh, the scenes. They are artfully laid out so clearly that you don't have to spend time conjuring them - they are just before you. You go through the emotions of the characters, you object, horrified to some of what they do, and you cry inside at some of the things that happen. Truly artful storytelling only comes once in a while and this is a story that defies time, defies reason and grabs at you. Love it or hate it, you will come out a changed person having read through this entire book.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Yes
Obsession. Desire. Deception. Ire. Apathy. Disaffection. Disgust.
I am conflicted.
By all accounts, this is a 5-star novel in my own framework. It was engrossing, challenging, demanding, entertaining, provocative, sprawling yet concise; it was neatly crafted and artfully written. And yet, I am embarrassed to give it all five.
We meet our hero-and, arguably, antagonist-at the opening of the novel, but we spend the majority of the time with the villain (opinion mine). We follow a man infatuated and obsessed with a teenage fling well into senile decay, traipsing about life with careless abandon in pursuit of an imagined love, with little concern for consequence or the damage left in his wake.
In many ways reminiscent of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (poor man loves woman from a higher social circle who marries someone in her orb, spends adulthood trying to position himself to win her graces notwithstanding her wedded status, gains wealth only to find that money won't change the circumstances, keeps trying anyway) the unlikeable characters here are given an entire lifetime (and about 200+ more pages) to continue in their debauchery. So this leaves me with the nagging suspicion that the reprehensible actions of many of the characters herein (sexual assault, enticement and sex abuse of a minor, stalking, incessant violations of boundaries clearly set and communicated) not only fail to be condemned by the author, but he seems to approve of them, even if the events take place in a time so different from ours.
But I've learned that good art doesn't have to include likable content or characters to be appreciated. So these stars are staying, however much anguish they cause me.
I am conflicted.
By all accounts, this is a 5-star novel in my own framework. It was engrossing, challenging, demanding, entertaining, provocative, sprawling yet concise; it was neatly crafted and artfully written. And yet, I am embarrassed to give it all five.
We meet our hero-and, arguably, antagonist-at the opening of the novel, but we spend the majority of the time with the villain (opinion mine). We follow a man infatuated and obsessed with a teenage fling well into senile decay, traipsing about life with careless abandon in pursuit of an imagined love, with little concern for consequence or the damage left in his wake.
In many ways reminiscent of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (poor man loves woman from a higher social circle who marries someone in her orb, spends adulthood trying to position himself to win her graces notwithstanding her wedded status, gains wealth only to find that money won't change the circumstances, keeps trying anyway) the unlikeable characters here are given an entire lifetime (and about 200+ more pages) to continue in their debauchery.
Spoiler
That Jay Gatsby doesn't get his way makes Fitzgerald's work a cautionary tale. That Florentino Ariza ultimately succeeds (?) in his "conquest" makes all the reprehensible actions taken, purportedly, in the name of love appear justified.But I've learned that good art doesn't have to include likable content or characters to be appreciated. So these stars are staying, however much anguish they cause me.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes