Love in the Time of Cholera (Oprah's Book Club) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Love in the Time of Cholera (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Escape to Another World
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't think I even have the words to describe what a beautiful novel this is. In some ways you finish it feeling as if nothing has happened and yet within the pages of the book you have lived and breathed several lifetimes with each character. The evocation of old age in particular is startingly powerful yet Marquez also displays an understanding of love and infatutation in the younger generation that defies belief - you find yourself asking how one author can have gained this wealth of experience to inject into his characters in simply one lifetime. I thought 100 years was the best novel I had ever read but this surpasses it easily. Buy it and escape to another world - you won't regret it.
Book Review: Dreary and pointless
Summary: 1 Stars
This is quite definitely one of the most boring books ever written. For ages now I've been told what a beautiful writer Marquez is and how glorious his books are. I've since come to the conclusion that Marquez is just one of those writers it's 'cool' to like. The characters were all hateful, the book rambled all over the place and the writing was pure waffle. I found myself struggling to read even a couple of pages a day, until about half way through when I had to give up and read something more worthwhile. To sum it up in a single word, dull.Book Review: The Emperor's got no clothes!
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with snot monkey that this appears to be one of those trendy books that one feels obliged to like; maybe the foreign author or exotic setting give poetic licence for what is at times boring and repetitive prose.We hear about the life and loves of Florentino Ariza who falls madly in "love" with a girl he sees walking down the street and spends literally the rest of his life in awe of her. I know this is supposed to be cute but these days this guys would be diagnosed with a serious mental disorder and prescribed an intensive course of therapy.
The book drifts from one character to another; potentially interesting strands are dropped in favour of yet another description of a conquest for Florentino. Yawn as we are told in Victorian metaphors about the "little birds" he finds on a nightly basis. One can only assume that much was lost in translation.
I really struggled to get through this dross, unfortunately under obligation as it was bought as a present. Please do not, under any circumstances, buy this as a present for some poor, unsuspecting friend.
Book Review: Love?s story, not a love story
Summary: 4 Stars
Marquez's 'LITTOC' is the story of the love that arises between two teenagers, Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza. Over the course of the next half century, their lives follow different paths, and the love that has come into being takes on a life of its own: sometimes growing, sometimes fading, sometimes lying abandoned. As their lives proceed separately, Marquez tells the story of this love.Those that complained that the book was slow, or that nothing happened, have a point in as far as Fermina and Florentino's lives are largely unremarkable and nothing particularly of note happens to either of them. However, this book is not their stories, but that of the love that they have brought into being, and every episode from their lives is told not with the effect on them in mind, but of the effect on this love. I thought that the idea of love as being the hero of a book was brilliantly realised, and very cleverly done. Every episode from their lives is told only to emphasise how it changes what could have existed between them, and not how it changes them as people. This makes for an admittedly slow read, but for me is the chief joy of the book. Although 'LITTOC' is in some ways a melancholy book, chiefly because of the large amount of time that passes (similarly in '100 Years of Solitude'), it is ultimately uplifting because it is about love and, despite all the pain that goes with it, you can't help feeling that Marquez thinks that love is a good thing.
Fans of magical realism should be aware that, despite being Marquez' trademark, it is largely absent in this book. It is very different in style to '100 Years of Solitude', and fans of one may not necessarily like the other. It is a slow paced book, largely lacking in traditional action. Readers looking for that should definitely go elsewhere. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the best books about love (as opposed to one merely including it) that I have ever read, and I strongly recommend others to give it a try.
Book Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
This is quite simply a beautiful book; beautifully written, amusing, loving, insightful - wonderful.