Love in the time of cholera : a novel

by Gabriel García Márquez

Paper Book, 2003

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 does so again.

Status

Available

Call number

Genres

Publication

New York : Vintage, 2003.

Media reviews

NRC Handelsblad

Ik hou van mannen als Márquez. Wijze, erudiete mannen. Ze vertellen mij dat het niet verkeerd is om gematigd en rustig te zijn, of zelfs af en toe te twijfelen. In deze tijd van mediacratie, waar de makkelijk pratende mensen het voor het zeggen hebben, de vorm dus voor de inhoud gaat (en ik iedere

keer merk dat ik, tot mijn grote ergernis, ook de neiging heb om aan die trend mee te doen) ervaar ik hen als een oase van rust. Een geruststellende hand op de schouder die zegt dat ik niet altijd op scherp hoef te staan en dat het misschien wel een goed idee is om even een pauze te nemen.

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— 1 more

The New York Times

Suppose, then, it were possible, not only to swear love ''forever,'' but actually to follow through on it - to live a long, full and authentic life based on such a vow, to put one's alloted stake of precious time where one's heart is? This is the extraordinary premise of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's

new novel ''Love in the Time of Cholera,'' one on which he delivers, and triumphantly.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member Jenson_AKA_DL

If I were called upon to give an idea of what this story is about, I really wouldn't say it had anything to do with love at all. Infatuation, yes. Obsession, definitely. Deviant behaviors, umm...yup to that as well (the pacifier thing really grossed me out!). Basically this is the story of a sorry

sort of man and a self-centered woman who see each other and decide to get married via correspondence, never actually speaking with each other. Yes, on the face it sounds sort of romantic but, in my opinion, it really wasn't.

Confusingly, the story starts off near the end of the tale and then moves into flashback mode, which makes up the majority of the book. I will say that the author's method of telling a story is lyrical and descriptive. In fact, I thought the writing was quite good. The problem I had mainly laid in the fact that I really couldn't stand the characters and by the time I was 2/3rds of the way through the book I finally decided that I didn't actually care what happened at the end and gave up. For me to enjoy a book I have to feel a connection with the characters and here I just couldn't feel anything but apathy and perhaps a bit of disgust.

There was also the issue of the font the book which was very cramped and hard to read (this, of course, is no fault of the author). Unfortunately, I don't know that if I had been reading another edition that I would have liked it any better.

I know that I am in the minority for disliking this book and had reservations about writing a review of a story I did not actually finish, but I figure that I did read enough to formulate an honest (if not very popular) opinion of my own.

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24 more

LibraryThing member jlelliott

My husband went into a bookstore to get me a book for our first anniversary and requested a love story. He was told that Love in the Time of Cholera was the best love story in existence. It is certainly my favorite work by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, perhaps because it is short on the magical realism

that permeates his other novels. Marquez has a gift of taking unlikely characters and situations and turning them into stories that ring distinctly true. There are several types of love in this novel: childish infatuations that dissolve or degenerate into obsession, love that begins as dislike and matures into dependence, friendships, and many sexual pairings of varying emotional involvement. Marquez also describes the Magdalena river with such love that I long to see it, an impossible wish as even during the timeframe of the novel it no longer exits as it once did.

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LibraryThing member bethanydhart

1) You must have patience to read this novel. 2) You must understand that Gabriel García Márquez is frequently lambasted for his plodding rhythm and tangential writing style. 3) Despite all this, it's unlikely you'll regret ingesting this complex tale of obsession, suffering, hypocrisy, and (yes)

love. The passion won't be there in your initial perception, but I found it on every page just as soon as I finished the book and closed the cover.

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LibraryThing member Boobalack

I fully expected to enjoy this book after all the hype. I was very disappointed. It should be named Lust in the Time of Cholera. I guess Florentino did love Fermina in his own way, but if he had truly loved her, he wouldn't have been bedding everything that came down the pike. If seemed to be more

of an exercise in self-pity for over fifty years, rather than a lasting love. Also, it was disgusting to read of his having sex, even though with her consent, with a child -- I believe that's called rape. Another sickening item was two (I hesitate to use the word lovers.) lovers taking enemas together. The author must be one sick dude, even if he did win a Pulitzer Prize. Yecch.

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LibraryThing member jillrhudy

I abhor this novel more than words can express. Florentino is a major stinko, and I was unimpressed when this self-aggrandizing pedophile threw himself at the feet of Fermina after his underaged ward/latest conquest KILLED HERSELF. Good lord. Why did Oprah think this is a romantic book? Why does

anyone? I would rather walk on hot coals than read this again.

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LibraryThing member indygo88

As I look over other reviews of this book, they seem to range from very low to very high. And then there are the few somewhere in the middle. I can't sugarcoat it: I had a fair amount of difficulty getting through this one. It's really only a little on the long side as far as novels go, but

realistically, it felt like a monster of a book. The formatting of the book largely contributes to this: very few, very LONG chapters, long paragraphs, and minimal dialogue. I think what Marquez is trying to do with this story is present a somewhat non-traditional definition of what "love" is. I don't necessarily disagree with his interpretation, but it requires some open-mindedness on the reader's part. And a lot of patience.

Had this story been about one-fourth the length it was, it would've been more palatable. As it was, I had to force myself to keep going. The writing, to me, was almost too flowery at times, and I don't think there was any one character in this novel that was truly likeable. And because of that, in addition to the other above-mentioned characteristics, I found myself not able to really invest any true feeling or soul toward the story or cast. I was mostly just interested in getting to the end so that I could start the next book on my reading list.

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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl

This is a book. Going in, I knew that it was a modern classic of South American literature and both Worthy and Important, after all, I've had a copy for at least three decades, the bookmark sitting sadly between page 36 and page 37. I was unprepared, however, for the experience of reading it.

Reading Love in the Time of Cholera is a brilliant, immersive, frustrating and fabulous experience.

Set a hundred years ago, in a coastal city in Colombia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells the story of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza, from the moment Florentino first catches sight of Fermina and falls madly, desperately in love, until they are both elderly. It's not an easy path; Florentino is awkward and weird and Fermina's father disapproves of the relationship. She marries another, and while his heart remains hers, he spends much of his time juggling a number of lovers as he waits for her to become free.

First published in 1985, Florentino's sexual ethics are presented as laudable and perhaps by the standards of the time and place, they are. But by modern standards, many of his relationships are coercive, if not blatantly abusive. This is the dead insect in the glorious feast of this book. Which is not to negate the importance or the beauty of this excellent book. I'm eager to read Marquez's other novels now.

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LibraryThing member mlgonzales

A fifty-year love triangle between Fermina Daza, Florentino Ariza, and Doctor Juvenal Urbino in the late 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. Literally translated in Spanish, "tener un arranque de cólera," means to have an attack of cholera, but figuratively means to be very

angry, in love. In this sense, the novel refers to being in anger that love brings. García Márquez uses third-person narrative to express personally to the reader about the emotional and physical battles the characters face throughout the book. Starting out with the present day upon returning home, Urbino falls to his death after trying to retrieve the household parrot from the branches of a mango tree, leaving his wife, Fermina Daza, a widow. After the funeral, Florentino Ariza approaches Daza and declares once more his vow of everlasting love. She is furious at him and orders him out of the house. The chapters turn to flashbacks from the past. following the first two from childhood to old age.
I have read this book more than once, reliving and enjoying the love that Florentino has for Fermina. How a love that true and pure lasted over the years. This truly showed the the strength of the human spirit of love. In my present day situation, I am to be engaged. My fiancee is back in Morocco taking care of his ailing father. He is dying of lung cancer. It has been 11 months since I have seen him. I could relate to Florentino's constant love affair with Fermina. His willing to just love one woman, for the rest of his life. No matter was what cost or loss, his heart stayed commited.
In the classroom, I would have children draw pictures of what they love to do in their free-time. I would have them share their love for whatever activity by acting them out or demonstrating to the entire class. I would have them express why and how it makes them feel this certain way.

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LibraryThing member dawnpen

It’s enough to say that the writing is a way of living with someone who does not love you, or takes a long time to, or loves very badly. It’s the listening and being listened to. And it's enormous. Bigger than the things you give up and the things you don’t find, bigger than despair.

LibraryThing member heart77

An overwhelming book about a man named Florentino who pines after the same woman for fifty years. At the beginning, it seems his affections are returned. They write letters to each other and plan to marry. Then, she calls it off, claiming their love was only an illusion. She marries someone else, a

rich and well-liked doctor. Florentino is despondent. He has sex with anything that moves in a futile attempt to forget her. Then her husband dies, and he decides to try again.

This book was more than a little ridiculous. It was over-the-top and there was way too much sex for my liking. I had to skim past pages and pages of sex scenes. I was glad when it was over.

That said, there was something about it that I liked. Fermina was my favorite character; I loved how dignified she was and how adept she was at maintaining the house. To me, she seemed to have all the qualities a woman should have. I can see what Florentino saw in her. I did not like Florentino's character so much, though I do respect the author for giving us such a flawed protagonist.

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LibraryThing member jscape2000

I loved this so much more on re-reading in 2017 than when I first read it in 2004 or 2005. Then, I was in the middle of discovering Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and this was a lesser light beside One Hundred Year of Solitude. But on re-reading (listening to the audiobook actually), I was drawn much more

into the nuance of the love triangle, the life of the little village, and the small acts of magic and love that permeate the villagers' lives.

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LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom

I read this book eons ago but I don't think I was in the right frame of mind at the time to fully appreciate its beauty. It's difficult to review this book, because there's so much to it, and there is a wealth of information and a plethora of sites pulling it apart as to themes, motifs etc on the

internet. So what I won't do is go into the plot.

First off, I think this is a book that everyone should read. Not that everyone will, but it should be high on everyone's tbr list. I know that Oprah's had it featured on her bookclub list, and hopefully her recommendation alone will get more people interested. Personally, I can't see how anyone wouldn't like this book.

Marquez's writing can only be viewed as beautiful. He is in total control of his topic, his characters, his setting and manages to get his point across to the reader with no difficulty at all. Once you start this book (or for that matter, any other novel he's ever written) you are hooked. IMHO, Marquez is one of the finest storytellers that ever put pen to paper. For example: there is one sentence that says only a few words and yet it says everything: The uncle of Florentino Ariza, Don Leo XII Loayza, the head of the River Company of the Caribbean notes at one point that "the trouble" ..."is that without river navigation, there is no love." Picture it -- it captures in one small sentence the story of Florentino Ariza and his river journeys some 50 years apart. The first, when he decided not to run away from Fermina Daza, but to stay in the same place and endure his love for her. The second, well, I won't spoil the ending, but once you've read it you'll understand. There is absolutely no writer like Marquez and there is absolutely no story like this one.

Very highly recommended; one of my personal favorites. I would recommend it to everyone.

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LibraryThing member bleached

While Marquez's writing is beautiful, lyrical, and romantic in style, I was internally screaming the whole way through the book. What is acclaimed as a romance for the ages is not; it is about a man who is obsessed with a woman and can't take no for an answer. Clearly, Marquez missed the mark of

how women feel, even to the point of suggesting numerous times that women like to be raped. I really wanted to like this book, even to the point of wanting to give it 4 stars, but sadly my conscience says no.

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LibraryThing member Castlelass

Literary fiction set in a fictional city in what I assume to be Colombia during the late 1800’s through early 1900’s that explores the perils of obsessive love over the course of five decades. There are three primary characters in this complicated love triangle: Fermina Daza, Florentino Ariza,

and Dr. Juvenal Urbino. There is a stalkerish feel to Florentino’s obsession with Fermina, and a dark side to his personality, so it is not for anyone looking to read a traditional uplifting romance.

The story is told in third person omniscient by an unnamed narrator, allowing the reader access to the inner thoughts of the main characters. Themes include examinations of the many forms of love and lust, transformations caused by the passage of time, and the impact of aging, particularly the demeaning views held by society toward the elderly. Cholera makes multiple appearances, not only as a literal plague, but also as a symbolic representation of war, humankind’s destruction of nature, and the more esoteric “ailments of the heart.”

The primary strength of this novel lies García Márquez’s lyrical and sensory writing. The novel is filled with detailed descriptions of sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touches. Though published in 1985, it harkens back to the classic writing style of the mid-1800’s. It is written in dense prose, often moving forward and backward along the timeline within a chapter, or even a paragraph, with no warning. There is very little, if any, dialogue. The chapters are lengthy and untitled, with very few easy stopping points along the way. It will not be to everyone’s taste, since there is very little in the way of a plot and the pacing is slow.

There are several ways to interpret this book and, in that way, I found it thought-provoking. Recommended to those who like to keep up with works considered modern classics or appreciate explorations of obsession masquerading as love.

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LibraryThing member BenjaminHahn

This is the first book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that I have read, despite 100 Years of Solitude being recommended to me numerous times by my dear friend Tony. I didn't know quite what to expect. Amber gave me this book when we first started dating 8 years ago and it has set on my shelf for that

long. It was finally a choice in our book club in May of 2008 and I thought what better time to read it. Amber read it too, but her original intention for giving it to me as a gift might of had something to do with a cheesy romantic comedy movie staring John Cusak where the female love interest is incredibly superstitious and tries to force spontaneity on everything. I can't quite remember the movie title but it wasn't very good and the female love interest gives Cusak a copy of this book and writes her phone number in it or some such and he spends years trying to find the copy of the book. Anyway, that was the impetus for this book ending up in my library.

Upon my first few hours of reading, I discovered that the chapters are extremely long and should probably be called parts since they are 50 to 75 pages long and the book itself is only 348 pages to begin with. This particular edition had a nice but very small font type which made it seem like you were reading at a glacial pace. Regardless, the writing took me to a somewhat vague Latin American country of 150 or so years ago. It is not named necessarily but I think it is describes in a way so you make up this country in your head. The descriptions of the people and places and temperature and culture are so vivid and real that I found myself basically creating this city and country out of my imagination. I didn't really require a historical foundation to place the story. It took me a while to get there but once I let go of that expectation I started enjoying the subtle and somewhat humorous love story that plays out over the course of 74 years. The story jumps around chronologically in a pleasing way that kept my attention, and Marquez would start with an event then shimmy away for pages and pages on some anecdote such as eggplant puree or the household decorations of a secret mistress. I found these little asides to be the best part of the book and it only gave the central narrative more flavor, but others have found it distracting.

Of the characters, Florentino was hardest to admire, but I suspect because it was hard for me to put aside my distaste for his taste in women and the choices he makes regarding his lovers near the end of the book. Dr. Juvenal was probably my favorite character because I enjoyed his habits and the way he loved Fermina Daza, not to mention the antics of his household. The incident with the parrot is probably my favorite part of the book, but probably only because it encapsulates the general demeanor of how small events unfold and effect the overall arch of the book. I don't feel however that it is done in a cliche way or that it is forced.

Overall, this book is a treatise on the many forms of love, particularly marriage, and how love can change over time and with age. It is a book that required my patience, but satisfying once I finished. If you enjoy writing styles that can seem a bit rambling (Herman Melville comes to mind) then this book is for you. I look forward to reading his other works.

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LibraryThing member midlevelbureaucrat

A magical and ageless tale. It is easy to understand how Gabriel Garcia Marquez owns the Nobel Prize for literature. This book flows seamlessly between the lives of its three characters over more than 50 years. This is a book that should be read by anyone who considers themselves an accomplished

reader.

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LibraryThing member carolcarter

It is easy to see why some authors are Nobel Laureates. They are able to create a whole, complete universe for you to enter. They are able to move you to care deeply about the characters they create. They are able to reveal to you truths about human nature that you might not find without them.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a master of this craft and I can only berate myself for waiting so long to read Love In The Time Of Cholera.

This is a beautiful story about a love that has to wait over fifty years for fruition. It is set during the last years of the Nineteenth Century and the first quarter of the Twentieth. Florentino Arizo falls in love with the lovely young Fermina Daza and they agree to marry. Fermina's father does not agree and whisks her away for a period of years. When she returns she decides she has made a mistake and ultimately weds someone else. She has a long and relatively contented marriage to an aristocratic doctor who lifts her from her lowly station. The book opens with the end of that marriage and begins a backward journey describing the tenacity of Florentino. During the course of five decades, with little desire and with possibly less effort, Florentino rises to become the director of a shipping company. After the funeral for her husband, he finally has a chance to reinstitute his suit for her affections.

What comes next is one of the most perfect examinations of what love is that I have ever read. This is a wonderful book and I think I will skip the movie in case it would not meet my expectations. If you have not yet done so, you should read this book.

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LibraryThing member TirzahLaughs

Love in the Time of Cholera drips with description and lush characters. Every one seems human and tangible and I thank the author for that. It is not an easy feat. I think this is what makes makes people love the book.

What I disliked about the book is that the plot goes to the future, then the

past, then the present, and then back to the future. Plus, some plot points are told two and three times from different people's points of view and in different times in history. Finally, I just didn't care anymore.

The wandering plot is basically that about a skinny boy that falls in love with a pretty girl. Pretty girl decides she can do better and dumps him for a rich doctor. The doctor and the pretty lady have a really nice life. They were fairly happy. The skinny boy spends his life humping any woman that jumps on top of him and day-dreaming about this girl that didn't want him. When the doctor husband dies in his 80's, the wife meets her childhood sweetheart again. He pursues her, claiming that he still adores her.

Beautiful wording, well-developed characters but just not the book for me. The book was to sad for me, to convoluted. Many will enjoy this, I am not one of the many.

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LibraryThing member Katie_H

A modern classic, Marquez's masterpiece is a thorough examination of LOVE. On the surface, it may seem that the story of Florentino and Fermina, one of unrequited love, is the main subject, as this story is interwoven throughout the novel. Florentino and Fermina meet as adolescents and fall in love

after exchanging a series of letters. Upon learning of the illicit relationship, Fermina's father takes her away, attempting to force her to forget him. When she sees Florentino some time later, she realizes how ordinary he is, hurtfully shunning him, and quickly moving on with her life. Florentino vows that he will win her eventually, so he remains available throughout his life, allowing himself affairs, but never entering into the bonds of marriage. Late in his life, he learns of the death of Fermina's husband, Juvenal, and he seizes the opportunity, hoping that she will accept him again after so many years. In reality, after peeling back the layers of the narrative, the book is not about this one form of love (unrequited), but of ALL aspects of love: puppy love (early days of Fermina and Florentino), love between a mother and son (Florentino and Leona), marital love (Juvenal and Fermina), forbidden love (Florentino and pre-pubertal America), love from a distance (that Florentino had for Fermina for so many years), jealous love, dangerous love, as well as several examples of elderly, adulterous, and purely sexual love. In essence, this savory novel IS a love story, but not in the predictable style of a typical romance. The reader should not expect a quick and easy read with this one; I felt that the text required quite a bit of concentration, but it was worth the effort in the end. This is extremely well written, and I highly recommend it to both fans and foes of this crazy little thing called LOVE.

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LibraryThing member myfanwy

This book was all I could have hoped for. Garcia Marquez has a way of writing that is exquisite. The form of his sentences is lyrical while the content is utterly familiar. I don't know quite how to describe it. He has a way of talking about anything, eating, loving, losing one's hair, that does

not shy away from the absurdity of the human condition but also does not denigrate it. He writes like an old man, one who is incredibly wise and knows all the hidden reasons why people do what they do. And the structure of his novels plays with time. Stories are revealed in an order which best describes the character rather than in any particularly chronological order and yet it is never so jumbled as to impede the reader.

The story follows the lives of Fermina Daza and the two men who love her, Florentino Ariza and Juvenal Urbino. That sounds like a romance, doesn't it? And yet it is simply a story of the human condition. The thrill of adolescent love burns out quickly, and Fermina turns to a more earthly romance, loving and hating her husband for all the things that make him who he is. Marquez opens up these people until you know them better than yourself. He shows you not just what they are thinking about at the moment, but both the recent and long past experiences which shaped their personality. Each character grows and changes as the city grows and changes, but each remains distinct in their own personality. I don't know of anyone else who can capture such a sweeping time period (60 or so years) with such insight into the human virtues and foibles of his characters. All I can say will not be enough to describe the virtues of this writer.

I enjoyed this book for all of its warmth and depth, but even so I feel I can recommend 100 Years of Solitude more. This may only be because I read that book first and thus Marquez' gifts were more novel to me. But 100 Years does include more magical realism, moments that lie on the cusp between reality and dream. Love in the Time of Cholera is a fine fine book, but also a little more down to earth.

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LibraryThing member kmstock

Well written, but I found Florentino detestable and ridiculous. To spend your whole life pining over someone and in the mean time seduce as many people as possible, including a child seems to me both idiotic and imoral. And I really didn't want them to get together in the end! Disgusting.

LibraryThing member mattviews

51 years, 9 months, 4 days - which was how long Florentino had waited.
Fifty-one years ago, Fermina Daza felt madly in love with Florentino Ariza. The affair was made possible only through her aunt's complicity. But under her father's tight regime and thus his intransigence of her love affair,

Fermina eventually broke all ties with Florentino and married Dr. Juvenal Urbino, a wealthy, eminent doctor who merited in fighting cholera along the Caribbean coast by implementing stringent measures. What followed Fermina's denial of his love was an austerely beautiful story of unrequited love that had still not ended half a century later. They were two people, ambushed by death, who no longer had anything in common except the distant memory of an ephemeral past that was no longer theirs but belonged to two young people who had vanished with no vestige.

Heartrending but not forlorn, it was during this long period of time (almost all his life) that Florentino changed his entire being. He whiled the years away by engaging in 622 affairs and maintained some link with his lovers but reserved his heart for the irreplaceable Fermina. The idea of substituting one love for another carried him along surprising paths that permitted him to find solace in other hearts for his pain.

Florentino, whose only point of reference in his own life was the love affair with Fermina, made a fierce decision to win fame and fortune in order to deserve Fermina. In his demented passion, he did not even consider the obstacle of her being married to the doctor but regarded it an ineluctable event that he resolved to wait without impatience or petulance, even till the end of time. When meeting the doctor, he could not bear the pangs of grief at the thought that the admirable man would have to die in order for him to be happy. Florentino understood both he and the doctor were poignantly subjected to the ineluctable fate of loving the same woman.

As the bell tolling resonated citywide for Doctor Juvenal Urbino, who died of a broken spine when he fell from the branch of a mango tree catching a parrot, death had interceded on his behalf after half a century of longing and imbued him the courage to repeat his vow of everlasting love to Fermina. So he planned to attend the funeral...

Love in the Time of Cholera is a tapestry of the complicated human emotions: love, repression, nostalgia, sex, concupiscence, and pride. It is a tale of morbidly repressed love, of passion, of obsession, and of indomitable longing and fulfillment. Garcia Marquez, with an incredulously detached voice and matter-of-fact manner, slowly unfolds the story with succulent details and lyrical exuberance. Piercing fluidity and precision of words accentuate the beauty of prose. Peripheral characters are no less etched and are vividly limned to the essence of their thoughts and emotions. The book is riddled with an air of melancholy and repression that is held redeemable by an undying hope.

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LibraryThing member Ebba

Best read in 2008 so far ! Wonderful story, sad but sweet. It is frightful how love can consume a person for a lifetime. At the same time it speaks of hope and that everything is possible as long as we don't give up. Things might not turn out exactly the way we hope or plan for, but dreams are

always worth holding on to.

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LibraryThing member Tricoteuse

I know that this is supposed to be an amazing book, and judging by the other reviews a lot of people really love it, but I really did not. I found myself really bogged down in the excesses of the language and I couldn't bring myself to really like either of the main characters (a major flaw in a

book that's all about their romance) so that by the end I really didn't care what happened to them, I just wanted the story to end so I could put the book down. Perhaps some day I'll give it another chance and discover something I missed on the first reading, but until then I can't possibly give this more than two stars.

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LibraryThing member Proustitutes

This book makes me uncomfortable.

I can't figure you out, Marquez. I don't read this as a tale of true, constant, unremitting love that ends in deserved triumph. Florentino fails as Fermina's 'lover' on multiple levels for me: he obsesses harshly over physicality, specifically his baldness and her

odors; he promulgates a pro-rape culture, essentially raping a child; he lies incessantly to Fermina (among others) and thinks none the less of himself for it.

His flaws are far too intense and obvious for him to deserve his feelings for Fermina to be called 'love' as the impassive narrator often does. And yet Marquez seems at once to call attention to his failings, juxtaposed against a positive story. What is he trying to say?

I don't mind a novel that has unlikeable leads, or puts you through relative torture to make one point or another. I'm at a loss though... that through all my disgust with Florentino, I can't say with certainty that Marquez established any point.

By pitting his protaganists in what plays out as a long-awaited, deserved conclusion, Marquez lost my support. Or at the least, he lost my understanding.

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