Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera" is one of those overley poignant heady literature novels you'd have to read for a class. What can I say I'm a big hairy brain pervert and have been on heavy lit kick.

This is the story of Florentino Ariza, a bastard son of a river trader, whose romantic quixoticism toward shady mule traders Daughter Fermina Daza touches and mortifies. She marries into a more notable family and enjoys a happy life. Florentino maintains a distant love worship and holds a "love grudge" for 50+ years.

The book is absolutely touching. It analyzes deep questions about love, age, and happiness. The writing is so rich. I found myself stopping at moments to savor a phrase that tweaked a sequence. Realize that there are almost no breaks in continuity. There are no chapters or breaks. Everything flows as if in a poetic dream.

The book culminates with the wizened old/young lovers on a honeymoon trip aboard a beatiful river boat on a ravaged river. The damn metaphors are so deep I don't even want to get into it. But it was good. I dug it.

I read "100 Years of Solitude" in a daze, overwhelmed by names, culture and content. This book was easier to approach. I really "bonded" with it's humanity.