It wasn't universally loved - it was a slog for some (while one woman read it - today!). But everyone described it with words like dense, rich, and lush. The descriptions of the scenes, of the characters, of the smells!, were slow and deep. Jenna read some information about his family. It feels almost as if he transferred his relatives into his fictional account. We discussed the different types of love that Urbino and Florentino felt towards Fermina, or even the difference between the young adolescent love between Florentino and Fermina and the love that they felt in old age. It was a good portrayal of the changes that slowly overtook Columbia, and of the changes as the main characters slipped into old age.