Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Book Review: Memories of my Melancholy Whores


Memories of my Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

This beautiful, perfectly-wrought novel tells the story of an old man who has never loved anyone, never had a true friend, and who has never made love to a woman that he hasn't paid. It is at once a novel about finding love at old age, after a long life ill-spent, and about coming to terms with the ghosts of one's past. I loved it in its awkwardness.

"After a lifetime spent in the arms of prostitutes (514 when he loses count at age 50), the unnamed journalist protagonist decides that his gift to himself on his 90th birthday will be a night with an adolescent virgin. But age, followed by the unexpected blossoming of love, disrupts his plans, and he finds himself wooing the allotted 14-year-old in silence for a year, sitting beside her as she sleeps and contemplating a life idly spent." Publishers Weekly

Kim's Grade: A

2 comments:

Lindsey Lou said...

Um, I don't mean to be critical of a book I haven't read, but it sounds like the protagonist just might be a pedophile.

Kym said...

This book takes place outside the US where pedophilia is a market and where 14 yr olds are considered adults. I know its sounds weird but think about it...is anyone ever arrested in Nicaragua or Thailand for having sex with children or teenagers? Yep, its sad!