Love in the Time of Cholera

When I read Love in the Time of Cholera, I felt as if I were moving through a world slowed by heat, longing, and the stubborn rhythm of memory. Marquez builds a love story that stretches across decades, and I found myself pulled into its patience. Following Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza felt like listening to two hearts that never learned the same beat, yet somehow kept echoing each other across a lifetime. At times I felt frustrated with them, then strangely protective, as if their hesitations were my own.

Florentino’s early devotion struck me with its intensity. I remember feeling both touched and unsettled by his romantic persistence, especially as he carried that promise through years of loss, wandering, and countless distractions he tried to pass off as love. Fermina, on the other hand, felt grounded in a way that made me breathe easier. When she married Dr. Juvenal Urbino, I sensed her desire for order, and I understood it. Watching her build a life with him gave the story a steadiness that made Florentino’s vigil feel even more fragile.

The world around them is painted with detail that made me stop more than once. The riverboats, the humid afternoons, the sharp humor, and the slow decay of the city all formed a landscape that felt alive. I often found myself drifting with it, as if the setting itself held its own breed of longing. When Urbino died, I felt the shift in the air. Florentino stepped forward again, older but unchanged at his core, and I was surprised by how much emotion that moment stirred in me.

By the end, when the two finally choose each other, I felt a mix of relief and an odd melancholy. Their love did not arrive shining. It arrived worn, tested, and honest. Closing the book, I carried a quiet respect for the way love can wait, transform, and still reach for one more beginning, even when the world insists it is too late.

Whew! I finally finished this book...and I am glad I did. For some reason this book never inspired that "page turner" fever in me. Don't get me wrong, it held my attention and I did love it, but I was never in a race to finish this book. I'm not sure what it was about this story that allowed me to interrupt it with other books, then come back. Maybe I subconsciously wanted to savor the story.

I'll let others decide this books virtues and place in the pantheon of literature. I loved the beautifully drawn characters. I loved the vivid sense of place and period. I loved the dense sentences, each one chewy and sweet. I loved the humanity in this novel.

I didn't love the pacing, yet I doubt I would want it changed - back to that savoring thing, I guess. I should have read this book on a cruise, then I wouldn't be picking nits.

I do think you should read this book. Just don't tempt yourself by putting other books on your nightstand at the same time.