Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

El amor en los tiempos del cólera by Gabriel García Márquez

16 reviews

gabriella_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Was anyone going to tell me there’s a

pedophilic relationship

in this or was I supposed to find out on my own? Genuinely left a disgusting taste in my mouth reading this. 

And why was there so much casual racism and bigoted language throughout the book? It was physically painful in a book that otherwise had a gripping prose (but was problematic, I smell misogyny). 

I don’t want to rate this because I feel so conflicted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Dementia, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, and Stalking

squidinkydink's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Grief, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Stalking, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

This book did not age well and I would not recommend to others.

woolgatherer's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

2.25

I'm somewhat surprised that I've gone as long as I have knowing very little about this classic, but it happens. To start, the prose is absolutely beautiful, and I imagine it's even more so in Spanish. Unfortunately, I had a hard time focusing. This is more of a problem related to my reading habits, but the chapters were much longer than I anticipated. I found that I frequently lost track of what was happening because I'd have to stop at random moments to do something else.

However, I just couldn't care very much about the characters, who are supposed to be the driving forces of the novel. I didn't find Fermina to be a compelling character. Florentino had more depth, but wow, is he massively problematic. It was incredibly difficult to look past the fact that an elderly man had sexual relations with a fourteen-year-old girl, for one. There's also the obsessive love for Fermina that didn't strike me as romantic at all, and I found the ending rather lackluster and frustrating, for the most part.

I'm not upset that I read this novel, but I certainly am disappointed that it didn't end up being as gripping and beautiful as I thought it'd be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death, Racism, Suicide, and Rape

eve81's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, War, Racism, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

devanie's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Suicide, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, and Stalking

jstrehse's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Genocide, Stalking, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Sexism, and Incest

cait's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, War, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Classism, Dementia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Incest, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism

fabioca's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

amkclaes's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this is an absolutely beautifully written book about a completely disturbing, obsessional love - it's about love, sure, but the way that love can find many forms and require different things from one another, and the pitfalls of "love" that removes you from reality. Florentino is a sad, creepy character, he only finds relationships with vulnerable, lonely women as he pines for the one high society woman that rejected him. Fermina is a totally average rich woman, that García Márquez uses to comment on the obliviousness, the pettiness, and even the casual racism of that class, while also, through her relationship with Urbino, showing how society traps women and the pros and cons that marriage can have for a woman in her position. the book is so subtle and insightful when portraying human relationships and social structures, it's all in a gesture or a look, and the descriptions are stunning. 
i have to say the storyline with the young girl perplexed me. maybe i'm making excuses for the author, but to me Florentino is such an antipathetic character, and he's at his absolute lowest base state, and to me that storyline shows the true harm he inflicts on the world through his self absorption. he makes his raggedy old self the center of this child's life,

and ultimately drives her to her death

because he is unable to extract himself from his lifelong obsession with Fermina and confront the reality of his life, that it has passed by and that he is old now.
one task of authors is to reflect our society, it its ugliness too, and he does that brilliantly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Suicide, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

henrytinker's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I honestly didn't expect to hate this book, but Florentine was unbearable. I kept hoping it would get better, because I'd heard such positive things about it, but unfortunately it only got worse as it went on. 

All the statements about love were incredibly clichéd and it was really just very boring, and felt pointless to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, and Pedophilia