Florentino Ariza, telegraphist by day and aspiring poet by night, falls madly in love with the mysteriously beautiful Fermina Daza. Their young age and Fermina’s overprotective father will come as hurdles to their passionate and poetic epistolary relationship. Right when their story is about to be given another chance, Fermina realizes that she has idealized this young man and rejects him abruptly. Yet Florentino’s determination will make him persevere for decades against all odds, even if his beloved discards everything associated to her first love. Silently watching her from afar, Florentino spends a lifetime trying to improve himself to conquer Fermina’s heart when her husband’s death would give him a new chance to do so…

One of the best love stories I have ever read about. While the story can seem to resemble other classical narratives of passion, the author is a remarkable storyteller with a particular gift for writing about feverish love. Yes, the book is very long and I was once again intimidated by its length. Yet the strength of Florentino’s fondness for Fermina kept me engulfed in the story which boldly illuminates the vices and virtues of being human. The characters are described in all their limitations, something that made me love them even more. It is in their deeply flawed characteristics that I felt the brilliance of such a complex account of tenderness.