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This book is funny. It may not be the point of the book, as love time and especially cholera are rarely funny, but it is certainly the most entertaining part of the novel. The comedy keeps the story rolling. Rather than bogging down in the sentimentalism that comes with a story about old people’s former love, Marquez keeps the story moving along briskly with a light humor that does not interfere with the plot.

In the first section the humor was pretty simple. Marquez focused on the always funny subjects of old age and lengthy marriages. Rather than exaggerating Marquez just states everything how it is, so the humor comes off as witty rather than contrived. He is also not afraid to resort to humor that some might consider crude. Rather than being a detriment, this is what really gave me in many cases a sense of what sort of a world the characters live in. This crudeness showed me that this Caribbean setting is one where parrots flirt, men are measured by their flow, and marriages reach the brink of disaster over a bar of soap. Through all of this, what is important is that Marquez is able to get to the point, Dr. Urbino’s death and the appearance of Florentino, and fill us in on many of the mannerisms of the main characters.

The Second section was funny in a different way. Rather than the kind of humor previously seen that got chuckles out of me, the story of Florentino’s and Fermina’s early love was more a constant satire on the subject of love struck teenagers. All of the torture Florentino put himself through, although not entirely realistic, showed how obsessed he had become with this girl. He got arrested, he drank perfume and ate flowers, he was nearly shot, and he searched for treasure all in the name of love. Then at the end of the section I had to question my own morality as I found the rejection sort of hilarious. Part of this is because it was actually realistic. Fermina did not even have to think of what to say to him. Her feelings changed in an instant and then the section was over. Marquez didn’t force 30 pages of Florentino’s sorrow. That would be unnecessary, as it is obvious how he would feel after that, and we had been told in the first section that he had loved her for fifty some odd years waiting for Urbino to die. So this abrupt ending is very funny, but also all that is needed to convey the message.

I love Dr. Urbino. He is to this point, almost done with third section, 90827389123710273 times cooler than Florentino. Urbino is chill and persistent without being annoying. Rather than doing stupid things and not recognizing it for love, Urbino knows that doing such a thing as drinking large quantities of alcohol with Lorenzo was not a great choice. Doing many of the same things as Florentino to woo Fermina, Urbino faces a new barrier. Instead of Lorenzo, this time it is Fermina’s reluctance to love again. Marquez was able to use this new attempt at love to satire young love again in a different light.