The trick of this book is not to be trapped under the narrator’s spell.
I’m on a roller coaster ride with this book right now! The unreliable narrator is a slime ball. He’s one of those eloquent types, who seems objective and authoritative on the surface. He can cast such a heady spell with his words.
The narrator’s racism and misogyny says a lot about him and have become one of the clearest signs that he’s not to be trusted to tell a real love story.
The narrator is trying to convince me that Florentino’s “love” for Fermina is admirable. But no matter how pretty the prose is, this “love” feels too creepy and obsessive. Like the book’s title suggests, it’s a disease. This love is a plague on both their lives.
Gardenias are a really interesting motif in the story. These fragrant blooms are tied to Fermina and emblematic of Florentino’s obsession with her. The narrator brings up gardenias 9 times while telling their story. Tracking these gorgeous, fragrant flowers in the text is an interesting way to look at the highs and lows of Florentino’s obsession.
Gardenias are great to annotate because this is a very smelly book. Scents are highlighted in most scenes and very important to setting in general.
YOU NEED 10 TABS TO ANNOTATE GARDENIAS
Remember one tab is for your tab key. The other 9 are for annotating these pages:
- p 8 wreath
- p 59 a crown
- p 65 consumed
- p 85 memory
- p 148 remembrance
- p 193 delusion
- p 224 trigger
- p 278 imagined
- p 292 telling absence
Fun Fact If You Like Coffee
Botanically, coffee (also very prevalent in this book!) and gardenias are closely related. They both belong to the Rubiaceae family of plants.
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Annotate With Sara 