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Rating: 
Summary: A Literary Monument
Review: I read somewhere that the admirers of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (a novel that brought the Nobel Prize for Garcia in 1982) would be surprised to know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has bettered it in the form of "Love in the Time of Cholera". Well, although I found the latter half of it a little cloggy, I was a great admirer of One Hundred Years of Solitude. But after reading Love in the Time of Cholera, I think it's not fair to compare as different works of fiction as these two novels are, and it won't do any good to Garcia as well. The only thing common to these two novels, however, is the prose of Garcia. He weaves, with the dexterity of a master craftsman, small characters and trifle incidents into the vast fabric of the novels. Effortlessly moving from character to character and incident to incident, he provides small pegs and footholds to the reader so that he could ascend, like a rock-climber, to his colossal literary monuments. This is especially true for Love in the Time of Cholera, where the reader is provided with a spectacular finale and one feels indeed like setting foot at the summit of Mount Everest after reading the novel. This is by far the best ending of a novel that I have read so far. There are dozens of important characters in Love in the Time of Cholera but I think the two most important protagonists are Love and Time. And both of them are so intricately interwoven together that sometimes it becomes difficult to tell which is which -- like two shrubs that run up the length of a tall tropical tree. The love of Florentino Ariza, a thin and shy boy, for the beautiful but whimsical Fermina Daza is unlike any in the literature. And in order to have her, our hero must overcome time (half a century!), her aloofness and more than 400 love affairs! I guess even Hercules would have given up in face of these obstacles. Unlike many other great writers, Garcia has little inhibitions. He is not ashamed of hiding emotions or sugarcoating his ideas; he simply does not believe in euphemisms. You can see everything in bare, harsh light: scars, warts, blemishes, all. Reminds one of ... Life.
Rating:
Summary: A Literary Monument
Review: I read somewhere that the admirers of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (a novel that brought the Nobel Prize for Garcia in 1982) would be surprised to know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has bettered it in the form of "Love in the Time of Cholera". Well, although I found the latter half of it a little cloggy, I was a great admirer of One Hundred Years of Solitude. But after reading Love in the Time of Cholera, I think it's not fair to compare as different works of fiction as these two novels are, and it won't do any good to Garcia as well. The only thing common to these two novels, however, is the prose of Garcia. He weaves, with the dexterity of a master craftsman, small characters and trifle incidents into the vast fabric of the novels. Effortlessly moving from character to character and incident to incident, he provides small pegs and footholds to the reader so that he could ascend, like a rock-climber, to his colossal literary monuments. This is especially true for Love in the Time of Cholera, where the reader is provided with a spectacular finale and one feels indeed like setting foot at the summit of Mount Everest after reading the novel. This is by far the best ending of a novel that I have read so far. There are dozens of important characters in Love in the Time of Cholera but I think the two most important protagonists are Love and Time. And both of them are so intricately interwoven together that sometimes it becomes difficult to tell which is which -- like two shrubs that run up the length of a tall tropical tree. The love of Florentino Ariza, a thin and shy boy, for the beautiful but whimsical Fermina Daza is unlike any in the literature. And in order to have her, our hero must overcome time (half a century!), her aloofness and more than 400 love affairs! I guess even Hercules would have given up in face of these obstacles. Unlike many other great writers, Garcia has little inhibitions. He is not ashamed of hiding emotions or sugarcoating his ideas; he simply does not believe in euphemisms. You can see everything in bare, harsh light: scars, warts, blemishes, all. Reminds one of ... Life.
Rating:
Summary: Another stroke of genius......
Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude is definitely my favorite book of all times. Since I considered I had read Gabo's masterpiece, I never got to reading Love in the Times of Cholera, until now.
A few days ago, I read Memoria de mis Putas Tristes, which came out about a week ago, and when writing a review, I thought too bad the book is not 900 pages long. Then, hungry for more divine prose and magic realism, I remembered Love in the Times of Cholera. I suddenly had 500 more pages of Gabo.
The book turns out to be a 50+ year long love story, superbly written as most of what Gabo has written. The prose grabs you and does not let you go until the very last line.
Every now and then, one reads a sentence in a book and wonders how much feeling, effort, expeience and luck it takes to word something so beautifully. This does not happen too often, and sometimes you go through numerous books without finding one of these, regardless of who the author is. Well, let me just say that there is one of theses magical sentences in just about every single page of Love in the Times of Cholera. The novel is like a bottle of excellent wine....each sip tastes better than the last one. This book will leave you with a sensation od deep, pleasant intoxication.
How does it compare to One Hundred Years? It's simply different. Even though time is probably the main character in both novels, while there's more magic in One Hundred Years, there's more love and passion in Love in the Times of Cholera.
I am left with the exact same feeling after reading every one of Gabo's boks: how the hell does he do it every time?
Don't miss out on the pleasure produced by this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Magic Realism at its best !!!!
Review: This is a love story. Yes. It describes with colorful and beautiful words a city that once was the center of the Spanish conquest, with Viceroys and nobility. Cartagena at the turn of the century, is only a shadow of this glorious past. But what makes this book unforgettable is the way you can see word by word, that the power of love is nothing without the element of destiny. A magnificent river, luxurious river ships, alligators sunbathing on the river banks, balloon rides and horse carriages. A fantastic story about all things long gone.
Rating:
Summary: Magic Realism at its best !!!!
Review: This is a love story. Yes. It describes with colorful and beautiful words a city that once was the center of the Spanish conquest, with Viceroys and nobility. Cartagena at the turn of the century, is only a shadow of this glorious past. But what makes this book unforgettable is the way you can see word by word, that the power of love is nothing without the element of destiny. A magnificent river, luxurious river ships, alligators sunbathing on the river banks, balloon rides and horse carriages. A fantastic story about all things long gone.
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