Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Gracia Marquez

Love in the Time of Cholera was my first Marquez novel. Prior to it I've read one of his short stories, "Eyes of the Blue Dog," and one novella, Memories of My Melancholy Whores. I enjoyed both and decided to jump into one of his novels. I chose this one based on the recommendation from Book Riot's Reading Pathways, which I talked about last week. I'm not going to lie, this novel is no cake walk. I really had to focus on every page. The plot is tedious and the story meandering. But honestly, the novel is definitely worth the effort. This love story follows Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza from their youth into their old age. After quickly falling in love as teenagers, Florentino and Fermina take two very seperate paths; she weds a doctor at the age of twenty-one, he goes on to have 622 affairs, in attempts to heal his broken heart. Fifty-one years, nine months and four days after they had seen each other last, Florentino finds her again to express his never ending love to her. (Not a spoiler I promise - this happens in the first fifty pages.)

To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell.

There is so much to examine throughout this novel. It explores a myriad of human emotions. It's a novel about love, loss, sex, passion, hope, and obsession. Although the chapters go on forever, there is careful attention to detail that I really enjoyed. This isn't your mushy-gushy love story, not even close. Though there are a large handful of steamy sex descriptions. When I say steamy I am talking hot, you guys, sizzling hot. But they aren't overdone, nor are they crude. Sex is depicted as a natural human desire, almost a necessity of life. It's just as beautiful as it is gratifying. Of course cholera is used as a metaphor for love throughout; the idea of love as a sickness and it's ability to distroy your body, inside and out, changing you forever. But it's more than just a love story between Fermina and Florentino. It's about the imperfectness of human nature, the complicated nature of human emotions, and the emotion of love itself.

As I mentioned earlier, this novel takes patience. Near the last third of the novel I found myself craving a resolution, some kind of end to this story of unrequited love. It seemed to go on and on and on. Then I realized maybe this is the beauty of the novel. Just like Florentino Ariza I wanted something to happen. Like Florentino, my patience began to wain. Once I thought about the idea that the emotions I experienced while reading this book mirrored the same emotions of the characters within the book, I realized the magnificence of it. It also turns out that through this tedium I really got a chance to get to know the characters and the places as they quietly unfolded.

I know that Marquez is known for his magical realism, but there were only a few instances in this novel where I noticed it. There was a scene involving a parrot in the beginning (one of my favorite scenes in the whole novel), and a scene on a boat near the end, but asides from that there weren't other instances that really stood out. Or maybe Marquez is so good at weaving the magical with the real, that I didn't even think twice about it. I believe magical realism is more prevalent in One Hundred Years of Solitude, which will be my next Marquez.

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1985

Top Ten Novels Set in New York City

New York City is, for me, one of the best cities for the setting of a book, probably because the city itself is so alive and captivating. I know Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn well enough to be able to imagine exactly where a scene of a book is taking place, which definitely adds to the fun. For this week's top ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, I decided to list my favorite books set in the glorious city that never sleeps.

1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer: This novel has been getting a lot of attention lately because of it's movie adaption (that I still haven't seen - I'll wait until it comes to DVD because I don't like to cry in public). But the book itself is fascinating and a true testament to the beautiful peculiarities that occupy Manhattan. (2005)

 

2. The Brooklyn Follies, Paul Auster: There is such a strong sense of place in this novel. Brooklyn has long been known for the possibility of second chances since immigrants began flocking to New York in the late 1800's. It seems that this is a timeless curiosity, as Auster implies the borough still has this special hold on it's inhabitants. (2005)

3. The History of Love, Nicole Krauss: Not only is this a beautifully written book (If you liked Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close you are sure to like this one) but the story itself is stunning both in its narrative structure and its message. (2005)

4. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton: There is something about the old New York of Edith Wharton's time that feels so romantic and exciting. (1920)

5. The Thieves of Manhattan, Adam Langer: A smart and fun mystery revolving around a literary hoax, it only makes sense that the novel takes place in the publishing capitol of the world. (2010)

6. Falling Man, Don DeLillo: A novel that follows two narratives both linked by 9/11 and the image of the falling man. (2007)

7. The New York Trilogy, Paul Auster: Paul Auster's signature work, the book is a set of three, loosely-interconnected novels that each take place in New York City: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room. (1987)

8. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath: Ester Greenwood gains an internship at New York magazine and descends into a mental breakdown; reader's aren't watching a girl's decent into insanity from the outside, but rather following her through it. (1963)

9. Let the great World Spin, Colum McCann: A novel that explores pain, loveliness, mystery, and promise of New York City in the 1970s. (2009)

10. Washington Square, Henry James:  Catherine Sloper is an average girl with average looks who just inherited her mother's estate. Morris Townsend is a young man who has spent all of his fortune on travel and frivolities. As the title implies, the novel takes place in old New York, a place that "appears to many persons the most delectable." (1880)

Sugar In My Bowl by Erica Jong

I need a little sugar in my bowl,

I need a little hot dog, on my roll

I can stand a bit of lovin', oh so bad,

I feel so funny, I feel so sad

-Bessie Smith

Here is the thing about a collection of essays, I know not every piece in the book is going to be stellar. Some will be mediocre, a few might be flat out bad, but the hope is that there will be enough good ones to hold the reader's interest. I've got to say Sugar in My Bowl did not deliver enough essays to keep me very interested. I'll admit, about halfway through the book I began to skim and even skip essays that didn't grab my interest in the first couple of pages. I decided life is too short to read vanilla. I should mention that this collection also included short stories, one graphic novel and a trialogue. Some of these pieces of fiction resembled erotica rather than the real women and real sex I was told I'd be reading about. These bits really didn't do it for me. Compared to the essays they felt, surprise surprise, less authentic and somewhat campy.

The lack of diversity was also disappointing. When "real women" talk about "real sex" I want variety. However, each story related was told from the viewpoint of a straight woman. The focus of each story was heterosexual sex. It would have been nice to have a bisexual, lesbian, or transgender viewpoint in an essay or two. Let's be real, this is the 21st century and diversity keeps it interesting. There were two bisexual women who wrote stories for the collection, but their stories didn't reflect their bisexual viewpoint and instead focused on male and female relationships. If I hadn't googled the contributors, I would have never known. Moreover, there was very little diversity in terms of race and ethnicity of authors.

With all that said, I do want to highlight the portions of the book I did enjoy. My favorite piece is entitled "The Diddler" by J.A.K. Andres, in which she discusses her young daughter's tenancy to, well, diddle herself. It's fresh, well-written, and laugh-out-loud funny. I also enjoyed "Cramming It All In: A Satire" by Susan Kingsloving and "My First Time, Twice" by Ariel Levy. I did liked that the general concept of the book is unique to the publishing world and while there were bits worth reading, as a whole this book left me uninspired.


Publisher: Ecco Press, 2011

Book Riot's Reading Pathways

Yesterday in my review of Sula I linked to a Toni Morrison "Reading Pathway" on Book Riot and I wanted to talk more about those. Of all the fun and interesting things posted on Book Riot, Reading Pathways are my favorite. As a reader there are often prolific authors who I'd like to get acquainted with, but I don't know where to start. Often beginning with the earliest works and moving forward isn't the best route to take. Enter Reading Pathways, in which a reader who is very familiar with a certain author's work suggests a series of three books to read in succession to best introduce a new reader to said author's oeuvre.

I myself am two-thirds of my way though the Gabriel Garcia Marquez Reading Pathway and have found it quite helpful. I've always been intimidated by Marquez, so the pathway makes me feel more confident about tackling his works. I started with Memories of My Melancholy Whores, moved to Love In The Time of Cholera (which I completed yesterday) and will tackle 100 Years of Solitude Next.  If you're looking to conquer a new-to-you author, I really can't recommend reading pathways enough. 

There are a wide variety of authors represented, including but not limited to Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Trooper, Jane Austen, John Irving, and Haruki Murakami. You can pursue the ever evolving list of authors here. Let me know if you try one! 

Sula by Toni Morrison

Sula never competed; she simply helped other define themselves.

It's been awhile since I've read a Morrison novel. In college I was required to read The Bluest Eye and Beloved for two different classes and while I liked them both a lot, I haven't picked anything else of hers up until now. It only took twenty pages or for me to remember how fantastic Toni Morrison really is. Maybe because Sula was the first Morrison novel I've read on my own, or maybe because the first two were for class and those sometimes go under appreciated, but I had a tiny Toni Morrison awakening. She is really amazing. At times her prose is like poetry and there are so many layers woven throughout the novel its underlying meaning is something you'll think about long after finishing it.

Sula is the story of two women and the forces that bring them together and later break them apart. On the surface Sula and Nel are juxtapositions of one another; Sula is wild and unconventional (with an ironic last name of Peace), while Nel is virtuous and restrained. However, as the story progresses these roles don't seem so clearly defined. Distinctions of character and morality itself are blurred over time, changing shape to suggest nothing is ever set in stone and things aren't always what they appear. The theme of ambiguity is examined throughout the novel through a number of different characters. Sula also explores the complexities of what it means to be a black women in America. It is a study of female friendships, especially black female friendships; their evolution and growth, what their absence implies, and just how important they are in terms of providing a sense of safeness and relief.

So when they met... they felt the ease and comfort in old friends. Because each had discovered years before that they were neither white nor male, and that all freedom and triumph was forbidden to the them, they had set about creating something else to be.

In Sula, we see that the relationships between women are essential to achieving a sense of completeness in life; Morrison implies sharing feelings and emotions among women works to awaken and define oneself. Moreover, Morrison continually criticizes male/female relationships throughout the novel, suggesting men cannot be a friend or a "comrade," at least to a woman. For Sula and Nel being black and female created a barrier, limiting them further in life but, at the same time, bringing them together to forge their own path.

I look forward to reading more Morrison. She isn't the easiest writer to read, but she's definitely worth the effort. Next on my wishlist is Song of Solomon. If you haven't read anything of hers, I'd like to direct you to Book Riot's Toni Morrison reading pathway. 

Publisher: Penguin Group, 1982

I'd buy these books based on cover art alone.

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I judge a book by its cover. At least at first. Great cover art can really draw me in and pique my interest in a novel. Below is a selection of my favorite cover art from books I'd like to own.

Spring, Heat, Rains: A South Indian Diary by Daivd Shulman / Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

The Snobs by Muriel Spark / Swerve by John Estes

The Storm: A Novel by Margriet de Moor / Martha and Hanwell by Zadie Smith

The Revolution of Little Girls by Blanche McCrary Boyd / The Craftsman by Richard Sennett

The Short Novels of John Steinbeck / Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas de Quincey

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

February Reading

February in Wisconsin is usually brutal. It's typically the coldest month of the year and filled with snow storms. This year, however, it felt more like early spring. We don't have any snow on the ground and temperatures have been the in 40's consistently. It's kind of a disappointment because I do enjoy a snow-filled winter, but I am looking forward to spring.

Books read this month: 6

I started this month off with a review of Stephen King's 11/22/63 (AH-mazing book you guys) and then read Domestic Violets which was quite funny, satirizing corporate America and highlighting the oddities of modern life. From there I turned to something completely different; Night by Elie Wiesel. It is a first person account of Wiesel's experiences in WWII concentration camps. This is a book I won't soon forget. Following Night, I picked up the much advertised debut novel The Snow Child and was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a lovely, whimsical read that was a perfect choice for the month of February. I also read a selection for the Smooth Criminals reading challenge - The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain. I really didn't know what to expect because I'm still pretty new to the noir genre. In the end it was a good time all around; thrilling and well-paced, with just enough violence to keep it interesting. After Postman I gave in to reading peer pressure and finally picked up The Hunger Games and you know what? I liked it quite a bit. Super fun and entertaining. (Yes I will be seeing the movie as well.) Lastly, I revisited the works of Toni Morrison with Sula. I haven't read Morrison since college and hot damn is she stellar. I almost forgot. (review coming soon)

At the very end of the month I started a collection of essays entitled Sugar in My Bowl: Real Women Write about Real Sex, which so far is just kind of meh. Since I usually read essays along with a novel so I cant alternate when I get tired of the essays I also began Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera which is beautiful written, though a bit tedious, and quite good so far. I plan on tackling 100 Years of Solitude this year and I was told that reading Memories of My Melancholy Whores (I did in 2010) and then Love in the Time of Cholera before 100 Years was a good path to take.

There aren't any new releases in March that I am particularly excited about, which is kind of good because I don't need to buy any more books right now.
image via Nose in a Book

Why I would never survive The Hunger Games

After yesterday's review of The Hunger Games, this pie chart seems particularly relevant.

via The Awl