: The story weaves through the past and present to mirror the way memory functions. Notable Quote

: While more grounded than One Hundred Years of Solitude , it retains a "larger than life" emotional intensity.

: A romantic poet who vows eternal fidelity while engaging in hundreds of affairs.

: Márquez mirrors the symptoms of love with those of cholera (fever, nausea, delirium).

: A fiercely independent woman who chooses security over youthful passion, only to reconsider in old age.

: The tension between the respectable Dr. Juvenal Urbino and the poetic, erratic Florentino. Key Characters

: The narrative spans fifty years, nine months, and four days of waiting.

: Descriptions are thick with the scents of bitter almonds, tropical flowers, and decay.