Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Ratings52
Average rating3.3
“The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.”
Márquez is undoubtedly a skilled writer and I will pick up some of his other books in the future, because I do want to explore further his writing style. However, reading this has left me with a little less faith in the literary cannon.
I cannot get over how many people thought this book was beautiful and sensual. The writing was indeed beautiful. The vile fantasies of a pathetic old man? Not at all (just to be clear, my thoughts would be the same even if the character was instead a handsome 18-year old boy). One of the men that gave this a 5 stars tagged this as recommended for men who love women. Allow me a second to go throw up. Another one's review said Any book that makes me sympathize with pedophiles deserves a high rating.
I considered writing a lengthy review explaining why this book doesn't deserve to be praised but I stumbled upon a review that pretty much wraps it up. You can read Chloe's review here.
The author uses dazzling and graceful prose to draw you into the world of a 90 year old man who falls in love for the very first time in his life. The only reason why I don't give this one 4 stars is because I would have liked a glimpse of the love interest's POV.
“Age isn't how old you are, age is how old you feel!”
“The adolescents of my generation, greedy for life, forgot in body or soul about their hopes for the future until reality taught them that tomorrow was not what they had dreamed, and they discovered nostalgia.”
“and her respiration was so faint, I took her pulse so I could feel she was alive. Blood circulated through her veins with the fluidity of a song that branched off into the most hidden areas of her body and returned to her heart, purified by love.”
“Sex is the consolation when you can't have love”
“In the end, it is impossible not to become what others believe you are.”
Oh I enjoyed this book. I haven't explored much of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and then I happened to read this one! Marquez has this uniquely beautiful style of writing that's romantic with a tinge of brash vulgarity. The story revolves around a ninety year old journalist who's the narrator of the novel. He's turning 90 and has this desire to experience love on his birthday. The narrator's past has been lascivious and wild! And now, he has this yearning for a rather 14 year old young girl called Delgadina. He falls in love with her and this is where the entire novel goes on an altogether different level! Some of you might find the story disturbing. It reminded me of Nabakov's Lolita.
The book is emotionally intense and explores the various facets of human behavior and emotions when a person is in love. It also explores the perils of getting old and how age has an impact on life in general with love, salacious passion and desire as the underlying themes throughout the book. The book is as seductive as its title. Read it for Marquez's fascinating writing and a rather different and offbeat story!