It may or may not be an unpopular opinion, but rereading Love in the Time of Cholera was a total “meh”. What we are told is a 51-year testament to devotion is actually a massive exercise in toxic obsession.

Florentino Ariza is brilliant at the talking stage with thousands of poetic pages, but he fails at execution. He doesn't fight for Fermina; he lurks. He falls in love with an idealized concept, waiting 50 years for a husband to die while building a ledger of 622 women to mask his behavior.

Meanwhile, Dr. Juvenal Urbino offers Fermina a real life with substance. Their marriage had flaws, but they did the actual work of building a life together. Florentino built nothing. The mask completely drops with America Vicuña—as her guardian, he grooms her and ignores her eventual suicide without a second thought.

Marquez’s prose is undeniably incredible, and the backdrop of a decaying city is brilliantly atmospheric. But making this story feel magical is why it is so insidious.

The ending boat with the yellow cholera flag isn't a romantic escape; it is a forced quarantine. Love isn’t a 50-year siege, and if your "forever" requires collateral damage, it isn't love—it's a disease.

Does anyone else feel like Florentino gets a free pass just because the writing is beautiful? Am I the only one who feels like Florentino was a creep? 

Hot take: Florentino Ariza isn’t a romantic hero, he’s a toxic stalker (Love in the Time of Cholera)