The Inferno

Issue date: 5/30/06 Section: Frontline

The Nobel Price winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the most read contemporary authors in the world.

With the happy Memorial Day celebration, all welcome summer into their lives. Even better than the simple summer sun are the leisure time activities that come along. Throughout the semester it is difficult to read your favorite books, because all the textbooks get priority. Now the time is ripe for some fun reading.

"Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the perfect summer read. The story centers on the life of Dr. Urbino, who is the City of Viceroy's most valued doctor. When he finds out about his best friend's death, Dr. Urbino discovers a sentimental note his friend left him, describing the secretive life he has been living for the past decades. One event unfolds the other, bringing an array of characters together into a charming tale about love, deceit, and the way humans deal with it.

The most striking aspect of the book is its gentle manner of tone. While reading the book, you do not notice the simple manner and smoothness of the narrator until the second chapter. While the chapters are long, they do not have the sharp effect of longevity attached to them. The easy read takes away from the uneasy burden of long chapters.

To further stress the tone, Marquez utilizes a narration that is very unique to him. If you have had your childhood memories all in one sit-in, all described by the one fact that your grandfather used to read you stories before bedtime, Marquez would establish that in his works.

The characters of the book are at times described to their completeness, allowing the reader to sink into a full mental picture of what a person in the story would look like. Dr. Urbino, the main character, is by far the best example of this. He is utilized as a guide through the lives of the people of the City of the Viceroy. His life is a matter of utter elegance, because he is part of the higher society. However, the more important theme would not be the class mobility, rather the importance of tradition, culture and the impact both have on the characteristics of a person in his or her latter life.

While Dr. Urbino's routines have embedded themselves in his life, sometimes making the reader feel like there is no other tangent to them, like the death of his friend, throws off the belief in them. A sudden event, as small as a single death in a town, allows for tangents the lives of many people.

The length of the book should not scare the average reader away from this magnificent story. The thickness of the artifact could simply lead someone to the illusion of it being boring. However, the depth of the storyline and the greatness of the elaborate events in the book would not have been depicted well if the story had been shorter.

What makes this book an ideal classic to read during the summer is not only its similar detail that reminds the readers about their favorite season, but also the relaxing power of a positive story. "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is available for purchase at any bookstore, used or new, and online.

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