first line: It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.
rated: 4 out of 5 (for an interesting plot)
'Love in the Time of Cholera' is one of the most unique books I've ever read. It's not quite what I expected. When I first started reading, I was expecting a love story and the start was a bit 'off' for me. But then I kept on reading. After about 50 pages, the love story began.
The story takes place somewhere in the Carribean. The book starts off with the story Dr. Juvenal Urbino and his wife, Fermina Daza. The elderly couple have been married a long time when Dr. Urbino falls to his death.
Florentino Ariza, a man in his 60's now, comes to the funeral, and faces Fermina to tell her he still loves her after all these years. Florentino met Fermina and fell in love with her some 51 years ago.
Then the love story about Florentino and Fermina begins. The author takes you back to when they first met. Florentino delivers a telegram to her father one day, and sees Fermina for the first time reading with her Aunt. Fermina lives a very sheltered life and he winds up watching her from a distance every day. She and her Aunt notice his attentions and eventually Fermina develops feelings for him as well.
Florentino writes her a love letter.
'Even when he observed her, unseen, during those days of longing when he waited for a reply to his first letter, he saw her transfigured in the afternoon shimmer of two o'clock in a shower of blossoms from the almond trees where it was always April regardless of the season of the year.'
The two write love betters back and forth for over 2 years, before Fermina's father finds out and takes her far away.
By the time they return home, she is 17 years old. She and Florentino found a way to communicate through telegrams while she was away. And now, they plan on marrying. You also learn the story of how Fermina met her husband, Dr.Urbino.
I liked that there's love letters involved. Florentino even ends up writing them for other lovers who can't come up with ideas of their own. He also winds up writing a book of love letters.
I both liked and disliked this book. It was hard for me to give it a rating, because I really disliked Florentino. It's the first time I've read a book and had a strong dislike for one of the main characters like this. He is a pervert.
This is a story about unrequited love. But the story also grossed me out, for lack of a better expression. I didn't like Florentino at all. At first I thought he was this great romantic, and I wanted Fermina to want him. But as the story goes on, you see he is nasty. I won't give away too much, but if you read it, you'll see what I mean. I lent this book to my sister in law and she felt the same way about Florentino. He's kind of creepy and even reminded me of a stalker. Also the way he is described in the book is not attractive at all. He has black greasy hair plastered to his head, wears wire rimmed glasses, is very skinny, wears all black, and drinks tons of strong black coffee all day long.
The storyline is full of drama. But beware of the icky parts. There's plenty of O-M-G moments. This is my first and last time reading Gabriel García Márquez.
I'm kind of torn in my review here, the love story is good, but the oddities were a bit much. I found I kept on reading just to see how the story ended more out of curiosity than anything else.
One thing I really liked what that Gabriel García Márquez writes the story like poetry at some parts. It was beautiful to read some passages.
'It was the year they fell into devastating love. Neither one could do anything except think about the other, dream about the other, and wait for letters with the same impatience they felt when they answered them. Never in that delirious spring, or in the following year, did they have the opportunity to speak to each other.'
About the author:
This book was first published in Spanish: 'El amor en los tiempos del cólera' by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez.
Love In The Time of Cholera was made into a movie in 2007.
I am very interested in seeing the film version of this book. I wonder how they went about putting this story on the big screen. To me, this isn't the type of book that would be good for a movie. When I see the film, I'll post a review of it on my blog as well.
This read has been part of the following reading challenges:
