#Friday56 & #BookBeginnings: Memories of My Melancholy Whores


The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a wild night of love with an adolescent virgin. 
- p. 3

For Friday 56:
I dressed in haste, without washing, and only then did I see the sentence written in lipstick across the mirror above the sink: The tiger does not eat far away. I knew it hadn't been there the night before, and no one could have come into the room, and therefore I understood it as a gift from the devil. 
- p. 56

Synopsis of Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: On the eve of his ninetieth birthday a bachelor decides to give himself a wild night of love with a virgin. As is his habit--he has purchased hundreds of women--he asks a madam for her assistance. The fourteen-year-old girl who is procured for him is enchanting, but exhausted as she is from caring for siblings and her job sewing buttons, she can do little but sleep. Yet with sleeping beauty at his side, it is he who awakens to a romance he has never known.

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After a ten year hiatus, Marquez came back with this extremely slim Lolita-esque novel. I've got a copy which I plan on rereading and reviewing for this year's Read the Nobels. Does this book intrigue you?

Read the Nobels 2016
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12 comments

  1. I love the 56! That sounds really interesting! I hope you enjoy the book, I might look into it myself. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Even though I already do NOT like the ninety-year-old man, this sounds like a fascinating story. The beginning definitely made me curious, and the 56 made me want to know what's going on.

    My Friday post features THE HURRICANE SISTERS.

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  3. I've been told I need to read this author, but I don't know if this one's for me... Happy Friday!

    Check out my Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings).

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  4. Hmm, the old man seems like someone I wouldn't like...lol. But he also sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing, and I hope to read this author someday. Here's mine:
    “SILVER BAY”

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  5. Wow...a bit on the "wild" side. :)

    Thanks for sharing. I like your new header.

    Have a great weekend.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  6. Oh, I've already read it :) I need to review it now ... so of course I'll reread it first :)

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  7. I was disgusted by that thought but this is quite an interesting read! Men! And growing old. Oh, MEN :P

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  8. I probably told you hahaha .... this isn't one my faves but it certainly is a good read. If you're looking for your first, I'd suggest Strange Pilgrims which is a collection of short stories; you'll get a sense of GGM's writing without the length of a full novel (or novella).

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  9. Is it? I think Lolita. Which I haven't read yet but maybe I should!
    (PS Thanks for the comment on my header ... !)

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  10. The beginning left me blushing... lol
    Happy weekend!

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  11. Definitely sounds "wild" - especially at his age....lol...here's my Friday meme

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© guiltless readingMaira Gall