love in the time of cholera

In this book, young Florentino Ariza falls madly in love with Fermina Daza and desires to marry her. However her father prefers she marry the wealthy Dr. Juvenal Urbino. Florentino being a love child doesn't stand a chance next to the well-born Dr. Urbino. Being the hopeless romantic that he is, even after she marries Urbino, Florentino continues to carry a torch for her. He believes that they are destined to be together and decides to wait for Urbino to pass on.

In the mean time he has 622 affairs with different women. The dalliances range form crazy to down right ridiculous. Like this widow Prudencia that he slept with had a habit of ripping off his clothes so that he could stay in her house longer after the sex as she sewed the buttons back on. There is another lady who had the habit of sucking his fingers. One time while sleeping witha married woman they wake up to find the house had been broken into and everything was gone except the bed they were sleeping on. He almost slept with a murderer who had escape from an asylum. He sleeps with all kinds of women, young, old, widowed, married, spinsters, prostitutes all the while still pinning for his lovely Fermina.

Fifty one years, nine months and four days later, Urbino finally dies after falling off a ladder and Florentino seizes the opportunity to ask Fermina out again. The story is so romantic and beautiful it took my breath away. Imagine a man carrying a torch for you for decades? If that is not love then I do not know what love is. Now you will have to read the story to find out how it ends. You will thank me later!

ps. The book begins a little slowly so don't give up because it gets juicy as you proceed. I would recommend it for people above 20 because it has very solid advice about relationships and marriage. The language used maybe too mature fore teenagers and children.I swear Gabriel Garcia has a way with words yawa!