Book Review: Love in the Time of Cholera

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an excellent choice for a book club to take on or for the individual who adores a great love story. It is the ultimate romance novel, yet it is a classic that offers an abundance of symbolism that moves the story along through the lifetimes of the main characters, Floretino Ariza and Fermina Daza.

Florentino Ariza, as a young man, falls madly in love with a young girl by the name of Fermina Daza. However, in the true spirit of forbidden love, Florentino Ariza is not wealthy enough for a beauty like Fermina Daza. Her father insists that she marry another, and she does, leaving Florenino Ariza heartbroken.

The book begins with Fermina Daza and her husband in their old age, which leads into the death of and funeral for her husband. Florentino Ariza shows up at the funeral fifty years later and once again declares his love for Fermina Daza. The story than returns to their youth and details the obsession of Florentino Ariza over fifty years.

The book is filled with beautiful acts inspired by undying love. It breaks your heart and then gives you a reason to believe. Love in the Time of Cholera begins near the end of the story, which I love because it makes you want to know how Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza got there. It is brilliantly constructed, offering the reader or group of readers plenty to ponder or discuss.

Here are a few possible book club discussion questions to get the conversation rolling:

Almond trees and the scent of almonds appear in few different scenes. The scent of almonds in Jeremiah de Saint-Amour's apartment, the almond trees Fermina Daza would sit under as a girl, and Florentino Ariza describes Fermina Daza's eyes as being almond shaped. Are there any connections between these scenes? Is there significance?

Florentino Ariza feels as though he has been faithful to Fermina Daza throughout his life despite having a number of affairs. What do you believe? Was he as faithful as he thought he was?

Florentino Ariza had a certain type of dress that never changed throughout his life except for when he meets Fermina Daza on the boat New Fidelity. What is the significance of his change of wardrobe? What about the name of the boat, New Fidelity?

Does Florentino Ariza's relationship with America Vicuna change the way you think of him as a man? Did his relationship with her make you dislike him or perhaps become disappointed in him?

What do you make of his relationship with Leona Cassiani, was she a better match for him than Fermina Daza?

Of course, what would a book club be if you did not deconstruct the ending? Would you have it end differently? Does the ending fit the flow of the story?