Ratings207
Average rating3.7
Yes, I used my first week of quarantine to read “Love in the Time of Cholera.” It just felt appropriate. Granted, both love and cholera hang more like specters in this novel than main characters. I always think of Marquez as a classics writer, and I forget that he only passed away 6 years ago, and this novel was published in 1985. More than the story, I found this a fascinating study in prose and character creation. The meandering, conversational exploration of dozens of vibrant lives is a feat, and even in translation the language resonates.
It's called a love story, but it explores love in a broad context, from the naive love at first sight of youth to the comfort of growing into love, from fleeting romances and taboos, to rediscovering romance in old age. Love is a disease; love is a medicine. Love is an equalizer; Love is a power struggle. I'm too far away from my Literature degree to leave a better review than this.