Category: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
book review – Memories of my Melancholy Whores
If there is a take away from this short book from Gabriel Garcia Marquez it is around the ideas of love and age. Ultimately you are never to old to fall in love but more importantly you can never be too cynical.
The cynical nature of the 90-year-old central character comes from his history of frequenting with incredible regularity the brothels in the South American town he inhabits. A man who has literally had hundreds of sexual encounters has almost trained himself to turn off any thoughts of love. He remembers the only occasion he came close to having any normal sort of relationship he ran away on the day of the wedding.
To celebrate his 90yj birthday he decides to visit the brothel but this time specifies that he must have a virgin waiting for him. Thus begins an off, non-conversational, relationship with a 14 year-old girl that is not given a sexual element until the very end. She sleeps, after working in a factory, and he talks to her and starts to plough all of his money into paying to see her.
At the same time the main character, who writes a weekly column for the main newspaper, decides he is going to stop writing. But he has gone through various stages of being criticised for being old-fashioned to a stage where he is in vogue. So the editor urges him to carry on and because of the costs of visiting the brothel he continues. As his columns start to cover the topics of love he becomes a must read in the town dividing readers but always sparking a debate.
He is advised finally to marry the girl to not only save money but to ensure that she is somewhere close by so his jealously, which is the other side of the love coin, does not eat up his last years.
The ending sees him vowing to live on in comfort with his young virgin discovering after believing that it was not possible what love is like and starting to understand why living for someone else is such a powerful life force.
Version read – Penguin paperback
book review – Memories of my Melancholy Whores
If there is a take away from this short book from Gabriel Garcia Marquez it is around the ideas of love and age. Ultimately you are never to old to fall in love but more importantly you can never be too cynical.
The cynical nature of the 90-year-old central character comes from his history of frequenting with incredible regularity the brothels in the South American town he inhabits. A man who has literally had hundreds of sexual encounters has almost trained himself to turn off any thoughts of love. He remembers the only occasion he came close to having any normal sort of relationship he ran away on the day of the wedding.
To celebrate his 90yj birthday he decides to visit the brothel but this time specifies that he must have a virgin waiting for him. Thus begins an off, non-conversational, relationship with a 14 year-old girl that is not given a sexual element until the very end. She sleeps, after working in a factory, and he talks to her and starts to plough all of his money into paying to see her.
At the same time the main character, who writes a weekly column for the main newspaper, decides he is going to stop writing. But he has gone through various stages of being criticised for being old-fashioned to a stage where he is in vogue. So the editor urges him to carry on and because of the costs of visiting the brothel he continues. As his columns start to cover the topics of love he becomes a must read in the town dividing readers but always sparking a debate.
He is advised finally to marry the girl to not only save money but to ensure that she is somewhere close by so his jealously, which is the other side of the love coin, does not eat up his last years.
The ending sees him vowing to live on in comfort with his young virgin discovering after believing that it was not possible what love is like and starting to understand why living for someone else is such a powerful life force.
Version read – Penguin paperback
book review – Memories of my Melancholy Whores
If there is a take away from this short book from Gabriel Garcia Marquez it is around the ideas of love and age. Ultimately you are never to old to fall in love but more importantly you can never be too cynical.
The cynical nature of the 90-year-old central character comes from his history of frequenting with incredible regularity the brothels in the South American town he inhabits. A man who has literally had hundreds of sexual encounters has almost trained himself to turn off any thoughts of love. He remembers the only occasion he came close to having any normal sort of relationship he ran away on the day of the wedding.
To celebrate his 90yj birthday he decides to visit the brothel but this time specifies that he must have a virgin waiting for him. Thus begins an off, non-conversational, relationship with a 14 year-old girl that is not given a sexual element until the very end. She sleeps, after working in a factory, and he talks to her and starts to plough all of his money into paying to see her.
At the same time the main character, who writes a weekly column for the main newspaper, decides he is going to stop writing. But he has gone through various stages of being criticised for being old-fashioned to a stage where he is in vogue. So the editor urges him to carry on and because of the costs of visiting the brothel he continues. As his columns start to cover the topics of love he becomes a must read in the town dividing readers but always sparking a debate.
He is advised finally to marry the girl to not only save money but to ensure that she is somewhere close by so his jealously, which is the other side of the love coin, does not eat up his last years.
The ending sees him vowing to live on in comfort with his young virgin discovering after believing that it was not possible what love is like and starting to understand why living for someone else is such a powerful life force.
Version read – Penguin paperback
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Wow almost missed this. Almost forgot to post this last bit on this week’s lunchtime read:
The downside for the poor old 90 year-old who has fallen head over heels for a young virgin whore is that with love comes jealousy. So when he gets it into his head that she has been with someone else and returns to him after an absence with make-up and jewels he vows never to see her again.
Friends advise him to grasp what happiness he can before his time runs out. So he finally swallows his jealousy and requests to see the girl again. After a life spent sleeping with women and avoiding commitment he has finally fallen in love. His columns for the newspaper reflect his position and he is seen in the odd light of almost being a love poet.
In the end he goes back to the girl with the words of the madam ringing in his ears that the young virgin is in love with the old man – who she has barely spent anytime awake with or said a word to. They have spent their hours with him talking to her, as she lies next to him asleep and providing her with gifts. But he has never taken what is arguably his by right – he has after all met the terms and conditions and paid. His love seems to be more genuine because it is non-sexual.
The morale seems to be that love can come to those who have given up looking or expecting it. There is also something to be said for age. A mad fool is an old fool. But is he so made if he finally finds contentment? Could anyone really understand what has happened to him?
A review will follow soon
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Wow almost missed this. Almost forgot to post this last bit on this week’s lunchtime read:
The downside for the poor old 90 year-old who has fallen head over heels for a young virgin whore is that with love comes jealousy. So when he gets it into his head that she has been with someone else and returns to him after an absence with make-up and jewels he vows never to see her again.
Friends advise him to grasp what happiness he can before his time runs out. So he finally swallows his jealousy and requests to see the girl again. After a life spent sleeping with women and avoiding commitment he has finally fallen in love. His columns for the newspaper reflect his position and he is seen in the odd light of almost being a love poet.
In the end he goes back to the girl with the words of the madam ringing in his ears that the young virgin is in love with the old man – who she has barely spent anytime awake with or said a word to. They have spent their hours with him talking to her, as she lies next to him asleep and providing her with gifts. But he has never taken what is arguably his by right – he has after all met the terms and conditions and paid. His love seems to be more genuine because it is non-sexual.
The morale seems to be that love can come to those who have given up looking or expecting it. There is also something to be said for age. A mad fool is an old fool. But is he so made if he finally finds contentment? Could anyone really understand what has happened to him?
A review will follow soon
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
For a 90 year-old that might be suspected of knowing better it is a slightly odd development to have him fall in love with the virgin prostitute.
She can barely read and write and always sleeps in the bed rather than talk and entertain him sexually but she still gets the love from the old man whether she wants it or not. They settle into a pattern with him coming to the brothel at the same time every night and sleeping with her before leaving early in the morning.
He starts to bring things to spruce the room up and make it an extension of his own home while they are together. He is advised to marry the girl and you sense he is seriously thinking about it. But maybe the ritual and the location of the brothel are just as important as the girl herself?
More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
For a 90 year-old that might be suspected of knowing better it is a slightly odd development to have him fall in love with the virgin prostitute.
She can barely read and write and always sleeps in the bed rather than talk and entertain him sexually but she still gets the love from the old man whether she wants it or not. They settle into a pattern with him coming to the brothel at the same time every night and sleeping with her before leaving early in the morning.
He starts to bring things to spruce the room up and make it an extension of his own home while they are together. He is advised to marry the girl and you sense he is seriously thinking about it. But maybe the ritual and the location of the brothel are just as important as the girl herself?
More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Having failed to mark his 90th birthday with the virgin prostitute the journalist and bachelor starts to get a little bit introspective and decides to resign from his job as a columnist.
Having written in an old fashioned style the newspaper is not too keen to lose him because he has gone from being fashionable, despised and finally back to respected and appreciated.
The mistress of the whore house phones him up and offers the girl again as a birthday gift and after initially opting to turn her down the man accepts the offer and starts to get himself ready for round two.
There are some wonderful comments here about the way fashions come round and what can seem antiquated will return to popularity as long as it remains true to itself.
More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Having failed to mark his 90th birthday with the virgin prostitute the journalist and bachelor starts to get a little bit introspective and decides to resign from his job as a columnist.
Having written in an old fashioned style the newspaper is not too keen to lose him because he has gone from being fashionable, despised and finally back to respected and appreciated.
The mistress of the whore house phones him up and offers the girl again as a birthday gift and after initially opting to turn her down the man accepts the offer and starts to get himself ready for round two.
There are some wonderful comments here about the way fashions come round and what can seem antiquated will return to popularity as long as it remains true to itself.
More tomorrow…
Lunchtime read: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
The slim novellas by Gabriel Garcia Marquez are always good for a lunchtime read. They rake you to a different world almost instantly. Plus they usually have a tight story concerning an aspect of love that are not confined to the first stages in teenage years.
This story concerns a 90 year old bachelor who has decided that to celebrate his birthday he is going to go to the whore house and sleep with a virgin. He has never slept with a woman he did not pay and has had hundreds of encounters in his lifetime.
But as he gets older it is the powerful allure of not only proving to himself that he still has the ability but also the attraction of virgin territory that motivates his call to the brothel and his request.
It is fulfilled in the shape of a 14 year-old girl who is waiting for him asleep in the room. He leaves her sleeping and gets ready but she resists him by carrying on sleeping so he lies next to her and hears the midnight chime and the dawn of his 90th birthday.
More tomorrow…
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