Book 6 - No More Pervy Old Men

Title: Memories of My Melancholy Whores

Author Gabriel Garcia Márquez

Genre: pervy short fiction

Fuck this book and all books like it.

The writing itself is beautiful, but I can't muster much else (besides appreciation of the writing) for the 90-year-old protagonist, a man who is described as flitting through life with ease, women falling all over him at every turn, who then "falls in love" with the sleeping form of a FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL. Why couldn't she be 18? Why couldn't she be a young man? Why oh why does she have to be 14, and why oh why does she have to be asleep??!?!?!

As if all that isn't eye-rolly enough, all the characters that surround the gnarly, horny old protag are less like actual people and more accurately mere mechanisms to show the reader how simply splendid Mr. Icky Oldness is. Yes, okay, this miiiight be on purpose: "we become what others think of us," he quotes, and if that's the case, well, okay, fine, that's pretty clever...

But still. Gross.

The dumbest part of the book - and I thought the whole thing was pretty dumb - is the end, when it turns out that she's been in love with him the whole time. Wow! What a love story; what a perfect end to a crusty old dude's sick and frankly tired fantasy.

Rating: 🍓🍓