 First edition (Colombian) | |
| Author | Gabriel García Márquez |
|---|---|
| Original title | Memoria de mis putas tristes |
| Translator | Edith Grossman |
| Language | Spanish |
| Publisher | Editorial Norma (Colombia) Alfred A. Knopf (US) |
| Publication date | 2004 |
| Publication place | Colombia |
| Published in English | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 128 |
| ISBN | 978-1-4000-4460-3 |
| OCLC | 58431922 |
| Dewey Decimal | 863/.64 22 |
| LC Class | PQ8180.17.A73 M4613 2005 |
Memories of My Melancholy Whores (Spanish: Memoria de mis putas tristes) is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez. The book was originally published in Spanish in 2004, with an English translation by Edith Grossman published in October 2005.
Plot
An old journalist, who has just celebrated his 90th birthday, seeks sex with a 14-year-old prostitute, who is selling her virginity to help her family. Instead of sex, he discovers love for the first time in his life.
List of characters
- First-person narrator - Unidentified old journalist.
- Rosa Cabarcas - Brothel owner and pimp.
- Delgadita - 14-year-old virgin girl.
- Florina de Dios Cargamantes - Narrator's mother.
- Damiana - Narrator's maid.
- Ximena Ortiz - Narrator's fiancée .
- Jerónimo Ortega - Journal chief censor.
- Editor-in-chief.
- J.M.B.- Famous banker.
- Sacramento Montiel - Brothel owner.
- Casilda Armenta - Former prostitute.
- Castorina - Prostitute with whom the narrator had his sexual debut.
- Narrator's angora cat.
Reception
The book received positive reviews. John Updike called the novel a "velvety pleasure to read, though somewhat disagreeable to contemplate", and wrote that García Márquez "has composed, with his usual sensual gravity and Olympian humor, a love letter to the dying light." Terrence Rafferty, writing for the New York Times, praised Grossman's translation and García Márquez' narrative.
Michiko Kakutani, also writing for the New York Times, gave a negative review to the novel, calling it a "halfhearted exercise in storytelling" and criticizing the narrative, protagonist, and ending as banal.
Memories of My Melancholy Whores was banned in Iran after selling 5,000 copies; it had been translated as Memories of my Melancholy Sweethearts.
Adaptation
In 2012, a joint film production of the novel by Spain, Denmark and Mexico was released by Danish film director, Henning Carlsen, and starring Emilio Echevarría, Olivia Molina, Ángela Molina and Geraldine Chaplin. The film received the Special Young Jury Prize at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival.
References
- Cass, Jeremy L. (2011). "Why Is No One Talking about Memoria de mis putas tristes?". South Atlantic Review. 76 (1): 113–128. ISSN 0277-335X. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Updike, John (30 October 2005). "Dying For Love". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Rafferty, Terrence (6 November 2005). "'Memories of My Melancholy Whores': Client of the Year". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Kakutani, Michiko (22 November 2005). "He Wants to Die Alone, but First . . ". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- "Iran ban for Garcia Marquez novel". BBC News. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- "A Garcia Marquez Novel is Banned in Iran". New York Times. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- "Tiene "Memoria de mis putas tristes" buen recibimiento en Málaga" (in Spanish). Provincia. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
External links
- Complete Review review
- Fantastic Fiction page
- Film Based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez Book Prompts Protest in Mexico by The Los Angeles Times
- 'The Nonagenarian and the Nymphette', review in the Oxonian Review
| Works by Gabriel García Márquez | |
|---|---|
| Novels | |
| Short stories | |
| Non-fiction | |
| Other works | |
| Miscellaneous | |