Product Description
In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall passionately in love. When Fermina eventually chooses to marry a wealthy, well-born doctor, Florentino is devastated, but he is a romantic. As he rises in his business career he whiles away the years in 622 affairs--yet he reserves his heart for Fermina. Her husband dies at last, and Florentino purposefully attends the funeral. Fifty years, nine months, and four days after he first declared his love for Fermina, he will do so again.
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 This is not a love story.
This book is gross. I don't understand where the love story is. The guy is an obsessed pervert and the supposed romantic ending has nothing to do with love at all. There are so many disturbing images from this book that still haunt me.
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 Book club hated this book
One of our members suggested this book, the rest of really had no exposure, other than seeing it at the book store. When we met a month later, only one out of 12 had finished it. During our discussion we agreed, it was one of worst selections we have ever made. We were baffled by the high acclaims and great reviews, (including Amazon's 4-5 star ratings), that this book received. Overall, we were mostly disturbed by Florentino's overwhelming fixation on Fermina and his overzealous sexuality as he fumbled through life trying to forget her. This didn't seem like a great love story to us, it seemed like obsession. We agreed that it could be cultural, but to us, his behavior seemed like stalking, it was over the top preoccupation. Her reaction also didn't make sense and made us question if she really loved him or if she was just in love with the idea and/or memory of him. Yes, this novel had a nice lyrical rhythm with beautiful details and descriptions, but it wasn't enough for us. I think I speak for the group when I say that we would definitely NOT recommend this book. The majority of us plan to either give it away or sell it on our garage sales.
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 It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.
Garcia Marquez can write. No doubt about it. The man is a marvel. I'd be puddling along, reading of Fermina Daza, and her adolescent passion (and his for her) of Florentino Ariza, or of her married life with Juvenal Urbino when I'd be swept away by a phrase or image, or the smell of bitter almonds. REmarkable. Poignant. Humorus. Heartbreaking. So much like life. The unfolding of love after youth has faded to no more than a whisper was an unexpected gift -- we can't all be in our twenties forever, no matter what our inner clock thinks.
It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.
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Metaphorical Romp
Love in the Time of Cholera / 0-14-011990-6
On the face of it, Love in the Time of Cholera would seem to be the biographical telling of the life of a man who experiences every type of love there is - passionate love, quiet love, unrequited love, angry love, insane love, young love, old love, adulterous love, and thousands of other flavors of love.
The main character, Florentino, seduces and is seduced by thousands of women and - taken literally - no, this is not a great guy. His adulterous affairs end messily, in one case with the murder of the unfortunate woman, and he grieves less for her than he worries for his own safety. Another affair ends after the jealous other man destroys all the furniture in the lady's house - Florentino finds that without the sumptuous furnishings, he is no longer attracted to the poor lady. He seduces his underage ward, and then leaves her distraught and emotionally abused when his 'life love' is suddenly widowed. Florentino is a breezy wind, blowing through women's' lives quickly and forgettably.
Yet I do not believe this tale is meant to be taken literally. It is a metaphor for every possible flavor of love. One man experiences all these loves in a way that a real human never could - who has the time or energy? - in order to provide a "control group" if you will for us to observe his responses in each situation. His selfishness and self-delusion are exaggerated here that we may see our own self-delusions in love. We would not be as cruel or as heartless as Florentino can sometimes be, but we CAN be cruel and heartless in smaller, similar ways.
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Love conquers all . . . including pedophilia?
I'm rather shocked by the fanfare for this novel. The sexual escapades were nauseating, and I vomited in my mouth a little when I read about the pedophilia, which Marquez excuses with a shrug of the shoulders and a wave of the hand. And while the idea of unrequited love can be noble, and the thought of seniors feeling giddy again is sweet, there was nothing of nobility, and little sweetness in this book. Love conquers all? Hardly. Fermina Daza was correct the majority of her life; stay away from Florentino Ariza. Don't waste your precious time and degrade your sense of morality in the process.
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