First published 2003
Florentino Ariza falls desperately in love with Fermina Daza as a young telegraph operator, but she marries a wealthy doctor instead. For fifty-one years, nine months, and four days, Florentino waits—writing letters, avoiding marriage, and holding onto an impossible romantic obsession. When Fermina's husband dies, Florentino sees his final chance to claim the woman who has defined his entire existence. But love at the end of life looks very different from love at its beginning. A story of persistence that challenges everything we understand about romantic connection.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, lyrical
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, second-chance, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Colombia, South America
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
348 pages · Paperback · Vintage International