Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

54 reviews

anaodaniel's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Suicide, Xenophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Stalking

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

snowleopard4's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and Racism

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.

eleniphant's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

1.0

I do not think I’ve rated a thing so low and I’m probably being harsh. But the only thing I can give this book is the writing and whatever meaning I try to read into it giving benefit of the doubt. I saw a take that Florentino is cholera and you know that is the only take I will accept because fuck that guy. 

Does a protagonist need to be likeable? No. If something is in a book is it condoning? No. 

I can acknowledge these truths and that Marquez is an extremely talented writer with a solid grasp on craft while also greatly disliking my experience in reading this book.

It’s the casual racism, the kind of dangerous portrayal on rape and how there are at least 3 victims who yearn for their perpetrator and “actually enjoyed it” 

This book absolutely lost me though at the final “relationship”  I hate to even call it that. Im not going to rant about how that situation was disgusting. 

Maybe I’ll try another of his works but it probably won’t be for a long while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, and Rape

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

j_rose18's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Moderate: Racism

unavezmas's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Racism

onceupon_longago's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

2.0

I had to spend some time with my thoughts after reading this, because I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.  I am typically a fan of both historical fiction and love stories, so I had high hopes (especially due to the many accolades this book has received), but ended up disappointed. 

It was not a love story at all in a romantic sense. Florentino was too obsessed, and Fermina too indifferent, for me to ever get behind their “love”.  I can’t fully decide if this was supposed to be an actual love story, or a commentary on the confusion people make between love and passion. Perhaps both.  

There were sections of the book I definitely enjoyed and that flowed really well, but other parts meandered a little too much for my taste, or got stuck on some sidebar for far too long. I did not find the characters particularly likeable, and never found Florentino sympathetic. It is hard to enjoy a book when you cannot root for the main characters. 

Lastly, there were several problematic scenarios (see content warnings) that made me frustrated and disgusted, so I can’t make myself give this book a higher rating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

csifbi23's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual violence