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A review by erebus53
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
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? Yes
2.25
This book is a meandering account, not unlike the riverboats owned by the main character. It frustrates me that in several places I felt like I was rehearing exact paragraphs from earlier in the story, because they seldom felt thematically resonant, but rather... recycled.
I liked the bit that recounted the incident with the escaped parrot. There is also a lot of discussion of the mortality of human beings, gerontolophobia, the nature of sex and love, there is further musing on the deforestation of Colombia and the pointless hunting of indigenous fauna, which appears to also be a parallel between the tendency of the young to not indulge in self-care to sustain their health and prolong their strength and fitness.... yet.
This is a story that feels like it's supposed to be romantic, but really it just comes across as the exploits of a man's fostering a lifelong obsession with a woman who turned him down when she was 18.
cw: rape that is celebrated by the recipients of the unsolicited attention (more than once)
cw: physical relationship between a custodian and ward.
..ugh.. yeah let's just not.
I liked the bit that recounted the incident with the escaped parrot. There is also a lot of discussion of the mortality of human beings, gerontolophobia, the nature of sex and love, there is further musing on the deforestation of Colombia and the pointless hunting of indigenous fauna, which appears to also be a parallel between the tendency of the young to not indulge in self-care to sustain their health and prolong their strength and fitness.... yet.
This is a story that feels like it's supposed to be romantic, but really it just comes across as the exploits of a man's fostering a lifelong obsession with a woman who turned him down when she was 18.
cw: rape that is celebrated by the recipients of the unsolicited attention (more than once)
cw: physical relationship between a custodian and ward.
..ugh.. yeah let's just not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Death