Um homem se apaixona pela trança de uma menina de família. O idílio dura algumas cartas, mas ao conhecer seu admirador, a moça rejeita-o e casa com outro. O amor, porém, persiste e dura a vida inteira. Nesta fábula de realismo-fantástico, Gabriel García Márquez mostra que a paixão não tem idade

Not good. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2011 about this read: "Quite a lot to this one!! Gabriel Garcia Marquez himself advises we not fall into his trap of thinking this is a sweet and simple love story. Based in Cartegena (still want to go there), and explores various forms of healthy, mature, unhealthy (leaning toward prevervse - think Lolitha), long-lasting, developing, etc. love. Some serious touches on aging as well . . . " ( )

Realmente es poco lo que se podría agregar a lo que cientos de miles de lectores cautivados ya han dicho de este libro, quizá sólo mencionar que esta debe ser ya mi cuarta lectura y, creo que eso también habla muy bien de un libro.

Infortunadamente, no puedo decir lo mismo de la edición, que en esta ocasión toco en audiolibro, que resulta desastrosa, por decir lo menos. Es una lástima que una obra de esta envergadura no tenga una edición igualmente impecable, el narrador es muy bueno, pero los cortes y errores son terribles. Resulta fácil entender que ningún libro se escapa de las erratas, pero cuando una obra está plagada de ellas, habla de un editor descuidado y con prisa por publicar una obra.

Una lástima que le haya tocado este editor precisamente a una obra de García Márquez, que merecía, como ya lo he comentado, una edición impecable. ( )

I'm having a hard time coming up with a numerical rating for this.

The writing is beautiful but exhausting. There is basically no dialogue, so it took me FOREVER to read this book.

The male characters are insanely unlikable, like throw the book across the room unlikable. Almost like, can't-read-it unlikable. The idea that this is a "love story" in the traditional sense (like in that it would make me feel swoony,) is incorrect, I think. Florentino Ariza is a stalker and a pedophile and he should have taken a freaking moment in those 50-some-odd years to just freaking get over this imaginary idea of Fermina Daza he was carrying around. Sad.

As a book about mistaking obsession for love, and about the ways people create imaginary versions of the people they are attracted to, it's pretty spot-on. I read a review somewhere that said I'd be "rooting for the lovers." I absolutely was not rooting for them. I did root for Fermina, however, and hoped that she would go off and stay with her cousin whose company she enjoyed so much, and leave these sad man-babies to their own devices.

Anyway, it was thought-provoking, emotion-inducing, and beautifully written, so I think I liked it. I just hated most of the people in it. :P