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joynerperez 's review for:
El amor en los tiempos del cólera
by Gabriel García Márquez
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.