love in the time of cholera (book)

el amor en los tiempos del colera
which is the first thing about this much-loved book
it was originally published in 1988 written in spanish
and then deftly and impressively translated to english
author gabriel garcia marquez was born in colombia
it is here and the greater caribbean that the book is set
my first exposure to the book was not long after it was published
a friend at the time had read it and was raving about it
and so from that it got put onto the 'one day must read' list
which is where it has been for the 20 (odd) years since then
now it has been made into a film starring javier bardem
i have full intentions of seeing the film on current release
but based on past experiences - better to read the book first
so off to the library, surprisingly it was available and out it went
i have taken it all in over the last couple of days
which says a lot about how very readable it is
at times i found myself ripping through the beautiful prose
more than a little impressed with how well constructed it was
indicating a great translation job if nothing else
but of course there is a lot more to it than just that
for one it is also a great history and geography lesson
it starts in 1929, goes back in time 50 years and works forward
a local boy florentino ariza falls in love at first sight
with a young girl fermina daza who is 4 years younger than he
her father disallows the relationship - he has his sights set higher
so they continue a clandestine relationship via letters
though they cannot meet in any other way and are kept apart
at the moment their paths can possibly join she unexpectedly denies him
which then sees them head off on quite different adult lives
she marries a successful doctor who heroically deals with the cholera plague
and she enjoys the trappings of his success with money, travel and status
he discovers and leads a life of debauchery and heart-breaking
while also building a career worthy of the woman he secretly loves
the book revolves around these 3 people and their lives
and in a very satisfying way works in some history lessons
including the introduction of telegraphs, flight and the 20th century
while covering a lot of ground in travels in and around colombia
similarly the devastation of the cholera epidemic is central to the story
and is never far away at any point with many references to it
but essentially this is a love story and this is the central theme
the leading lady eventually is free from the trappings of her marriage
and the man who loves her most in the world eventually gets closer
then coming full circle they resurrect their contact by letter
from there it would be a spoiler to provide more detail
but as with the rest of the book it is not as simple as it may seem
for this is not your average mills and boon love story
much more emotionally charged than that i would say
the author has described the characters personalities fully
and as a reader you feel you know them so completely
that you find yourself in full empathy with them and their emotions
which also means the 50 elapsed years seems quite reasonable
apart from it being a fascinating journey through time in this place
the ending unintentionally seems made for the big screen
which neatly sums up the rest of the book
in the right hands it will be a great film
hope they get it right