Of Love and Other Demons | Gabriel García Márquez | Thoughts

I lost my notes on this book so I’ll just attempt to summarise my thoughts in a few points.

• Of Love and Other Demons is more of a fictional representation of a legend.

• It follows the story of a 12 year old girl named Sierva Maria who contacts rabies after being bitten by a dog. Even though she does not exhibit any symptoms initially, she becomes severely infected later on.

• Ignored by both her father and mother since her birth, she was raised up by slaves and naturally became well versed in multiple African languages, often replicating their culture than her own.

• But soon after she gets severely infected, her father's concern & love for her takes root on a whole different level, hitherto unexpressed.

• It is his redeemed love for her, as opposed to her mother's continued abhorrence, that leads him to seek both reason & religion.

• Ultimately, he decides to put Sierva's fate into the hands of religion and places her in the care of nuns.

• Just as science & religion collides with each other, her sickness is seen as nothing but a case of demonic possession, even leaving trails of strange occurrences at her wake.

• But the young priest responsible for her exorcism falls in love with her, leading to a forbidden relationship.

• The book explores the confines of scientific reasoning in the eighteenth century(?) and elaborates on the adherence to religious precepts and mentality. It simultaneously traces the social circumstances of the period, throwing considerable light on the status of slaves, domestic relations, and relationships between men & women - all within only 160 pages.

• One of the best things about the book is that it offers a glimpse into the psyche of each character and paints a vivid picture of the 'demons' - love and all the other ordeals of the human emotions.

So basically I enjoyed reading the book, but for someone who doesn’t enjoy reading magical realism, Of Love and Other Demons may not be an interesting read. This was my first Gabriel García Márquez book and I look forward to reading more of his works.