Love in the Time of Cholera

Gabriel García Márquez, 1985 Date Read: 2/13/2022

Thanks to this novel, we have a new tracker on the LLL: The Pedophile Tracker! A 76-year-old man has a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl who is his ward. Even in 1985, even in Columbia, even in the 1920s when the novel is set, that was fucked up.

As usual, spoilers ahead. In essence, this is the story of a stalker. Florentino "falls in love" with Fermina when they are teenagers - she's 16, I think, when they meet. Things happen and she marries someone else. Florentino then spends the next fifty-plus years obsessing about her, following her, watching her, and waiting/hoping for her husband to die. Oh, and while he's doing this, he's also fucking every damn woman in the city. I think it said at least 645 "relationships", not counting flings. Later, it is told that he raped a servant and got her pregnant, disowned the baby, and got someone else accued of the rape.

And - wait for it - Florentino is the romantic lead.

Fermina marries Juvenal, who is rich, cultured, loving, attentive, and intelligent. And she hates him. There's no reason for the hatred. He cheats on her early in their marriage (in part because Fermina obviously can't stand him) but that's not even why she can't stand him. She can't stand him on like, a cellular level. While also loving him. Because apparently "that's how women are" (news to me).

I did not dislike this novel. It had serious problems, though. As did the characters. Like serious, major, you-should-really-see-someone-about-that problems.

Most of it was enjoyable to read. I was not happy that Fermina ends up in a romantic relationship with Florentino at the end because he's a despicable, disgusting excuse for a human being and he deserves jail for statutory rape (and regular rape too - this is also going on the Violence Against Women list).

Time to read: two days

Rereadability: Maybe? It isn't unenjoyable.

Classic: I really don't see it. It does sometime seem that your novel will be called a classic as long as a woman gets raped at least once.

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