Oct 14, 2004 08:54 PM
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(Updated Oct 14, 2004 08:54 PM)
I have been toying with the idea of a review on Marquez?s works for quite some time. But you know how it is, if there is something that has deeply touched you, you are scared to open it up to other people for fear of not being understood. So, Marquez was sort of off limits. But then I saw that no one had written a review on this little gem of a book and I thought to myself well, now this book deserves to be talked about and others should really try it out. So, hoping that you will all be a little open minded about my obvious bias here, I will begin.
Marquez was inspired to write this book when on one of his trips as a journalist; he witnessed the digging up of crypts in the church of Santa Clara. There, he saw the grave of a twelve year old Marquise, whose skeleton still had her brilliant copper hair attached to it. In fact the hair measured over two meters. Connecting this with a legend his Grandmother had told him, Marquez dreamed up this story.
At the very beginning he manages to evoke many emotions from the reader. His descriptions of the place are unique. He does convey to the reader that the story is set in South America, as his writing has a Latin flavor that cannot be denied, but his perspective is unique. It is slightly mystical and gives the reader the feeling that he is intruding on some dream. The reader though is welcomed to the story, and is carried along at a beautifully rhythmic pace.
Of Love and Other Demons is primarily about love and folly, however, on his way Marquez manages to create some remarkable characters and in his own subtle way even manage to construct a satire around the religious beliefs of that time. The story is haunting in its simplicity. In a slave market in a tropical Colombian seaport, venturing to buy a string of bells, the Marquis?s twelve year old daughter, Sierva Maria, is bitten by a rabid dog. On the order of the Bishop, the Marquis is made to incarcerate her in the convent of Santa Clara. There she is kept bound and separated in preparation for a young priest Cayetano Delaura who is sent to exorcize the virulent demon of her sickness. This priest however falls in love with this mystical beauty and what follows is a magical fable of doomed love.
His descriptions of Colombia reflect a sort of enchantment and disenchantment he has with the place. His characters are very physical and he conveys their faults in an undiluted way. A first time reader may be a bit shocked at the way he exposes his character?s physical weaknesses with no preamble. His narrative too is far from being very simple. A first time reader may find his style slightly vague. However, once you immerse yourself in the book, you understand the mystical quality of his words; you understand the undercurrent of magic and mysticism. You understand that nothing is really vague and that Marquez has definite points to make with his statements.
The journey in this book takes you through the mind of a very extraordinary girl. You will experience the horrors of exorcism, the torture of incarceration and the passion of that first rush of love. In Delaura?s character, he brings out his own doubts about religion the way it is practiced. He puts forth its follies and its weird ways. He brings out its rhetoric and questions it openly. Delaura will also make you experience what its like to fall in love. The raw passion and strength of a first love. The character of the Marquis is also brilliantly written in. His internal struggles are exposed in exquisite fashion. His unbridled love for his daughter is partly responsible for her doom. His anguish and remorse has been brilliantly etched. His equation of Love and Demonism is highly symbolic but is apparent in every undercurrent.
All in all this is a brilliantly moving book and is a great introduction to Marquez. Before you attempt or want to attempt ?A Hundred Years of Solitude? (his best known book, though maybe not the best), do read this one and another one to be recommended is ?The Chronicle of a Death Foretold? which however deserves its own review.
Hope the review was ok; comments would be appreciated a lot. Thanks for reading.
