Rating: 
Summary: Rich, Savory Reading!
Review: For readers, this is a four-star entree meal. Garcia's prose is richly seasoned. His characterization is complete and immensely human. With his style of writing, he creates for the reader a prose that is complex, ornate, baroque, and deeply satisfying.The novel's scope ranges over the youth and old age of three characters, caught in unrequited love, surviving civil wars, deforestation of landscapes--both psychological and also natural--and outbreaks of cholera. Behind this hubris, Garcia details the fine distinctions of love and love lost. This novel, finally, gets better when you finish reading it; the sensual prose seeps into the reader's memory and makes for a haunting, echoing satisfaction. Yes, the ending is fulfilling. In fact, the last 50 pages of the book are simply incredible, but of course, the readers needs to read everything prior to this--as set-up--to get the reward of the finale. This is an incredibly satisfying novel.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping, tragic story, but not a love story
Review: Marquez has crafted a book which, in my opinion, deserves far more attention than it has gotten. The fact that Love in the Time of Cholera has its ugly and human moments might contribute to the disappointment so many people register when reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, because the people were passionate, exceptionally real, and because it was especially descriptive of the disappointments and shocking realizations that come with marriage. I especially enjoyed the observations made regarding Juvenal Urbino's bathroom habits; this kind of thing happens to real people, but no one ever addresses it. Marquez has done so. He has combined passion with decadence, one man's almost bestial sexual life with a pure, undying love, and in the process I was mesmerized and enjoyed it immensely.
Rating:
Summary: A majestic wonder
Review: This is probably my favorite of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's works. In this book he is able to map out his charactors with idiosyncratic humor and a poignancy. Somehow every detail, no matter how unrealistic, seems possible. when you read this book, think about the differences between how people are perceived and how they really are. Also, think about the differences between our (people) ideals and fantasies, and the realities of our world. just a thought.
Rating:
Summary: Lejos, lo mejor de GM
Review: En este libro, escrito en forma magistral por un maestro de la descripcion y la narracion, uno se va haciendo carne con los personajes. Es el libro ideal para el que se inicia en la literatura no-pasatista.
Rating:
Summary: difficult loves
Review: While I must agree that Love in the Time of Cholera doesn't capture the amazing sweep of human experience like 100 Years of Solitude, I must also say that if I were trapped alone on a desert island, it's the book I would want with me. While 100 Years of Solitude condenses the history of a continent into one town, Love in the Time of Cholera, takes all human experience of Love and distills it down to these two people. 100 Years of Solitude is all about separation while, finally Love in the Time of Cholera chooses to grasp at the possibility of these two people coming together in tenderness despite time and history and everything in the universe that would seperate one human from another. There is hope here. It is tiny and old far far past it's time, but, miracle of miracles, it exists. In this world there is very little that gives us a real sense that it will be ok. Personally, any sense I have of this, was born reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughts on GGM's Love in the Time of Cholera
Review: This book conveys a passion that is unique because of its protagonist's[Florentino Ariza] patience and restraint. These great qualities are also consistant with the author's style and rhythm, making the book, oh, just breathtaking.
Rating:
Summary: Really 4.5 stars
Review: The only reason I witheld the last half star was that I think the book is not quite as profound as it could be, and that is, I think, only beciuse it is written entirely from the male experience. OK, OK, I'll give it the 5th star because the author's not at fault for being gender-limited! I thought it was evocative, sweeping, poetic and all that has been said, and I was happy to be reading it. The language is quite beautiful. But somehow I just didn't quite buy the pathetic unrequited love at its core. Can't quite put my finger on why not. I agree it explored all sorts of types of love, and the descriptive passages of place were also highly evocative.
Rating:
Summary: Marquez is a wizard of the written word!
Review: You cannot claim to be well read unless you have experienced at least one of Gabriel's work, I personally have read almost them all, and his novels are the best of it's kind. He is the inspiration for many great authors, and I feel that if I were to become a writer, it would be his books I modelled all that I wrote upon. His work undoubtedly needs patience, and that is why I plan to read them all again in my old age, when time is not an issue. Only then will I be doing justice to him and his passionate novels, which is of a calibre of nothing I have encountered. 'Love in the Times of Chloera' is not my favourite, and I feel nothing matches the power and strong narrative style of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', yet I can see why this is probably equally associated with the Garbriel as the forementioned. I enjoyed it almost as much. His writing has what I value most in a novel, busyiness, irony and wit, which is masterfully combined with sadness and solitude, and I long to have that same ability to fashion such gifted phrases as he. 'Love in the Times of Chlorea', made me realise just how strong the forces of true love are, after 52 years, it can still exist. I will treasure this book and all that he has written, for he is really a genius.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story of love written by a master
Review: Well-crafted, poetic, beautiful novel of a life lived with the hope of love. Not as well-written as 100 Years of Solitude, but a perfect example of how a novel should be written-combining beautiful prose with a great story, full of wit and flavor.
Rating:
Summary: The Endurance of Life and Love.
Review: Starting with one of the best first sentences in all of fiction, Garcia Marquez follows that up with a beautiful, remarkable novel. This book is full of lush prose on top of a dramatic tale of everyday human existence. I've tried several times to read Marquez's most famous of novels, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', but it never hit me the way this novel affected me. This book contains many life lessons if you care to see them. Never give up on your dreams. Dare to live a hopeful life.
|
