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Memories of my Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez
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Memories of my Melancholy Whores

by Gabriel García Márquez

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2,268421,176 (3.54)36
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English (37)  Spanish (3)  Norwegian (1)  Portuguese (1)  All languages (42)
Showing 1-5 of 37 (next | show all)
going from gabriel garcia marquez' other stories to this was ... disappointing.
the narrative and tone for which he is famous just fell flat around the theme which simply put is about an old man and his fantasy.
no amount of romanticizing this story with poignant words cuts it. ( )
fierolucent | May 6, 2009 |  
Our unnamed narrator, who has never had a sexual relationship he hasn't paid for, turns ninety, and decides he wants to spend that night with an adolescent virgin. Said virgin sleeps peacefully through their first "meeting" and subsequent encounters, and our narrator finds himself, in his dotage, falling in love for the first time.

Never quite as horrifying/titillating/disturbing/beautiful as the reader dreads and/or hopes, I didn't enjoy this short piece as much as I wanted to, nor did I really dislike it. Of course Marquez is a master storyteller, and the tale is lovingly told, with moments of transcendent beauty, but one is left wondering why this particular story. ( )
heidialice | May 6, 2009 |  
To celebrate his 90th birthday, the unnamed narrator decides to go to a brothel so that he can enjoy the evening with a 14 year old virgin prostitute...that concept alone may seem disturbing to some as the basis for a book. Luckily, the author doesn't go into details that would make one too uncomfortable, in fact the focus isn't so much on sexual themes but more on finding love, understanding that unmistakable feeling of longing the one you love, and reflecting on life's accomplishments (or lack thereof). Beautifully written, but brief and to the point. Many questions are left unanswered...it's more like a snapshot rather than a fully fleshed out story. I would have no problem recommending this book to someone, although it's not a book I'd rank in my favorites of this year. I'd give Marquez' book a 3/5.

http://kishamasala.blogspot.com/2009/... ( )
CutestLilBookworm | Mar 18, 2009 |  
well somehow depressing... but just look at the power of love that how strong and powerful is and can change all.take a look at this link of site e mohajerani: http://mohajerani.maktuob.net/archive... ( )
shahabodin | Feb 5, 2009 |  
Just crazy good. It's one of those novels you can't bring yourself to stop reading. GGM has been one of my favorite writers since teenage. I read it in the original language - which I speak and once taught. ( )
BetaCummins | Jan 21, 2009 |  
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Epigraph
"He was not to do anything in bad taste, the woman of the inn warned old Eguchi. He was not to put his finger into the mouth of the sleeping girl, or try anything else of that sort."
- Yasunari Kawabata,
House of the Sleeping Beauties
Dedication
First words
The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.
El año de mis noventa años quise regalarme una noche de amor loco con una adolescente virgen.
(Slovene)
Tisto leto, ko sem dopolnil devetdeset let, sem si zaželel podariti noč strastne ljubezni z deviškim dekletom.
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Amazon.com (ISBN 140004460X, Hardcover)

"The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin." So begins Memories of My Melancholy Whores, and it becomes even more unlikely as the novel unfolds. This slim volume contains the story of the sad life of an unnamed, only slightly talented Colombian journalist and teacher, never married, never in love, living in the crumbling family manse. He calls Rosa Cabarcas, madame of the city's most successful brothel, to seek her assistance. Rosa tells him his wish is impossible--and then calls right back to say that she has found the perfect girl.

The protagonist says of himself: "I have never gone to bed with a woman I didn't pay ... by the time I was fifty there were 514 women with whom I had been at least once ... My public life, on the other hand, was lacking in interest: both parents dead, a bachelor without a future, a mediocre journalist ... and a favorite of caricaturists because of my exemplary ugliness."

The girl is 14 and works all day in a factory attaching buttons in order to provide for her family. Rosa gives her a combination of bromide and valerian to drink to calm her nerves, and when the prospective lover arrives, she is sound asleep. Now the story really begins. The nonagenarian is not a sex-starved adventurer; he is a tender voyeur. Throughout his 90th year, he continues to meet the girl and watch her sleep. He says, "This was something new for me. I was ignorant of the arts of seduction and had always chosen my brides for a night at random, more for their price than their charms, and we had made love without love, half-dressed most of the time and always in the dark, so we could imagine ourselves as better than we were ... That night I discovered the improbably pleasure of contemplating the body of a sleeping woman without the urgencies of desire or the obstacles of modesty."

Márquez's style never falters throughout this recounting of his life and his exploration of love, found at an unexpected time and place. The erstwhile lover is still capable of being surprised--and fulfilled. After an absence of ten years, it is a treat to have another parable from the master. --Valerie Ryan

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400)

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