Book Review: Love in the Time of Cholera

I began my first phase of Colombian culture appreciation in the summer of 2022 when I took on the classic novel, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I actually had no knowledge of the works of Marquez until I made a deep study on literature in 2019. I came to understand that he had two novels regarded as masterful works of literature; 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. I was all the more encouraged to see a Colombian author included with some of the all time great writers such as Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Steinbeck to name a few. 

However that summer when I read 100 Years of Solitude, I was not as inspired as I had hoped to be. I actually found it to be one of the more challenging books I had ever read and found myself very lost with what exactly was going on. It's a book about about a family set in a fictional town in Colombia that spans 100 years thru their generations. If ever there was a book that captured this ideal of magical realism it is this one. It provides a realistic setting, with many elements of subtle fantasy and magical occurrences throughout the book. I wrote a review here, and for the most part gave it a rather disappointing assessment. However maybe someday I might give it a 2nd read through given that it is considered such a treasure of Colombian culture.

When I knew I would be visiting Colombia for the first time, I planned to take my 2nd plunge into the study of Colombian culture. As per usual when it comes to my phases I not only need some good television and movie content but also a book pertaining to Colombia. There was really only one that jumped out at me and that was Marquez's other novel, Love in the Time of Cholera. I was honestly a little hesitant to take on this book, having been so disappointed with 100 Years of Solitude. However thankfully I had bought it two years ago and it was just sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read. And so I embarked on the journey just a week before we flew out to Medellin. I had hoped to finish it while in Colombia, but there never really was much any spare time to finish. I did however finish it this morning and can honestly say it was a good book, far more comprehensive then 100 Years of Solitude. 

The Premise

The story is set during the 1920s in a small unnamed town in Colombia, likely near the Caribbean coast along the Magdelena River (maybe on the outskirts of Barranquilla). It begins by recounting the life of Dr. Juvenal Urbino who is a well respected practitioner in the town. He is a man of routine and makes daily house visits throughout town treating his patients mostly of cholera. It is his wife of over 50 years, Fermina Diaz that keeps him in line, who lives a solitary domestic life. At the age of 80 Dr. Juvenal Urbino falls from a ladder and dies while trying to catch a parrot in the house. His wife Fermina is devastated by the loss, but she is then visited by an acquaintance from her youth, Florentino Ariza, who has waited all his life for this moment.

The story then backtracks some 50 years when Fermina and Florentino first met. Florentino is no doubt a hopeless romantic and is stricken by love when he sees Fermina. So he writes poetry to her everyday and eventually finds the courage to ask for her courtship. Fermina accepts and the two even plan to marry until Fermina's father intervenes. Fermina's father deems Florentino unworthy of his daughters, and he takes her away from town for 2 years. During this time Fermina and Florentino still maintain correspondence, but when they finally reunite Fermina realizes she no longer loves him. Florentino must then go on with the heartbreak while Fermina's life moves in another direction. 

Fermina is then courted by the well-respected young doctor Dr. Juvenal Urbino, who is able to win the favor of Fermina's father and quickly asks for her hand in marriage. Not out of love but more out of financial stability Fermina agrees and the two get married. Throughout their marriage they do share some special moments such as a trip to Europe. However for the most part their love lacks passion and is one of domestic necessity, raising children while sharing the same household together. It seems they often disagree and fight more than anything, and it is later revealed that Urbino has a brief affair with a Jamaican patient. This further distances Fermina however she stays true to him until his death. 

Meanwhile Florentino goes on thru life as an eligible bachelor who manages a riverboat company with his uncle. Unlike the stable relationship of Fermina, he has many various love affairs with different women throughout his life. This includes the woman he first has sex with Rosalba, his secretary Leona Cassina who becomes his true best friend, Sara Noriega a fellow poetry enthusiast, and later in the book as he gets much older he dates a young teenager named America Vicuna. However throughout all these affairs of passionate sex, he continues to keep an eye on Fermina, longing for the day she might be free once again. 

Eventually this day does come towards the end of the book, after the funeral of Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Both Fermina and Florentino are elders at this point in their 70s but slowly begin to reacquaint themselves. Florentino confesses that he has never stopped loving her since they were young. Fermina eventually welcomes his visits and even invites her children to meet him. They later decide to take a romantic boat ride along the Magdelena River where they share many intimate moments. Upon Fermina's wishes, Florentino is able to convince the captain (who works for him) to remove all other passengers and cargo so he can have more privacy with Fermina. They are able to do so by hoisting the yellow flag of cholera up-and-down the river in what the two hope to be an endless journey together. 

The Review

I was honestly hooked after the first chapter of this book. Similar to 100 Years of Solitude I found the writing to be loaded with backstory detail, however this time it was easier to tie together with the events unfolding in the book. The opening chapter took me for quite the surprise when it recounts the happy life and marriage of Dr. Juvenal Urbina and Fermina. This to me seemed like the happy ending story, and that the chapters to follow would be a detailed prequel of how they first met and fell in love. But that was not the case, when Fermina was visited by Florentino after Urbina's funeral. All of a sudden the plot thickened and what seemed like a simple story of domestic marriage became a triangular love affair.

In the first chapter it seemed liked Dr. Juvenal Urbina was going to be the main character of this book, that is until he died and the story then shifted on the perspectives of Florentino and Fermina. From the 2nd chapter onward the story recounts how Florentino and Fermina fell in love during their youth, and then went their separate ways in different trajectories. Fermina lived the typical housewife life with children and good financial stability. She was likely content with her situation and probably did love Dr. Juvenal Urbina, but more so in a platonic way. Meanwhile Florentino lived the opposite life of freedom and passionate sex, but still with a sense of emptiness. One can only imagine the emotional pain he had to endure for a lifetime, unable to get over Fermina. Although he did not have children, his life was also a good one, with financial success and many love affairs.

The final chapter of the book, finally reunites Fermina and Florentino as elders free from any constraints. Marquez makes clear in this chapter the undeniable presence of old age where both are physically and mentally aware of their incapacities. However despite their wrinkly skin and frequent naps they still share a powerful bond they had missed for the past 50 years. Here are two people united not by physical beauty but more so a passionate chemistry of wisdom and experience. Its a remarkable conclusion and a very happy ending for these two lovers to reunite at their final years of life. 

As I said in the opening I sincerely enjoyed this book and found the detailed writing to offer great insight into Colombian culture. I could sincerely envision the small Colombian towns, the large family gatherings, and the meals they shared together. I think the three main characters (Dr. Juvenal, Fermina, and Florentino) were all very unique and complex characters, especially Florentino. He was a true romantic, an artist, a poet, an adventurer, and a free-spirited person which was probably not very common in Latin America during the 1920s. I think I could probably most relate to his character as a single free-spirited person myself. 

However one thing I did not like too much about Florentino's character was his love affair with the 14 year old America Vicuna (when he was in his 70s). I think this is a detail Marquez could have left out of the story because it somewhat takes away from the sympathy received towards Florentino. Furthermore when she commits suicide at the end of the book, Florentino simply pushes this upsetting news aside so that he can fully focus on Fermina. I think this is a rather dark and very unnecessary element of the book. Perhaps on the flip side it demonstrates how deep in love Florentino is with Fermina, that he is willing to end the relationship with a beautiful young girl for a much older woman. 

I remember one night whilst visiting my brother in Stavanger, Norway we met an American literature professor at a bar. He was a very interesting person, obviously quite knowledgeable of classic literature and we spent several hours having engaging conversation of our favorite books. And I remember he said this book was his all time favorite. I can now understand what he was describing and how this book is considered a masterpiece classic. I believe it is loaded with so much details that it could also be read again to further appreciate. I think it presents the theme of love in two contrasting ways; platonic vs. passionate, and young love vs old love. The love affair of Florentino and Fermina comes full circle after 50 years and I think that's what especially makes this such a magical story.