Mal de amores cuenta la apasionada historia de Emilia Sauri y Daniel Cuenca, cuyas vidas se entre verán desde la mas tierna infancia y transcurren sobresaltadas por los avatares de la Revolución Mexicana. Con maestría inigualable y cristalina ligereza, Ángeles Mastretta nos ofrece en estas páginas el vivido retrato de una mujer tan frágil como aguerrida, que asoma al mundo moderno despojándose de las ataduras y prejuicios de sus antecesoras. La protagonista de esta cautivante novela no solo debe enfrentar los tradicionales problemas domésticos y femeninos, sino también los embates políticos de la vida de su país, motivo por el cual se ve obligada a llevar una doble existencia para seguir siendo fiel, contra viento y marea, a su primer amor.

3.5 stars

"When did you get here?" Emilia asked him, kissing him as she had when their lips were smooth and unwrinkled. The eternal throbbing beat below her breastbone.
"I never leave," said Daniel, stroking her head with its scent of mysteries.

Spanning almost 50yrs, this is the story of Emilia. The vast majority of the story takes place during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) and does a good job shining a light on how discontent, injustice, and passion bring about such wars. Emilia's childhood friend, who grows up to be her love, Daniel, is more than full of passion for the war and constantly leaves and is at battle leaving Emilia. Their love story is one people in their younger years would find exciting, dramatic, lustful, and love torn; a lovestory that is exciting to read about but hellish to live.

Emilia's father was a pharmacist, and she starts to study under him and grow her own passion but for medicine. She naturally and fights her way to becoming a doctor, no mean feat during this time period. She meets a Dr. Zavalza and love triangle ensues.

I really enjoyed the first 70% of this, as we get a historical feel for the Revolution with discussion and interaction with Diaz, Madero, Zapata. I do wish we could have had some scenes from Daniel to get a feel for the battles but this look at it from ordinary citizens was encompassing in its own way, too. Emilia's aunt and a poet who is in love with said aunt, were my favorite secondary characters and I would happily read the aunt's life story, what a woman she sounds like.

The last 30% was very rushed through as we get some of the conflict following the Revolution with Zapatistas and Cardenas with Daniel and Emilia continuing their relationship in a not thought of conventional way. Years pass quickly and Emilia becoming a doctor and having children is quickly told. This rushed ending kind of gave all the emotional upheaval and drama, I as the reader, went through less gravitas.

Lovesick couldn't be a more apt title as Emilia and Daniel's relationship wasn't exactly healthy. Daniel's passion for the war and how he constantly puts it above Emilia and Emilia's inability to let impulsive Daniel and his frenzy for fighting go in favor of Zavalza's calm supporting love will make you want to pull your hair out.

The historical context was weaved expertly into the story and Emilia's life journey will definitely make you feel. ( )

Set in Puebla, a village in Mexico, this quintessential Latin American story embraces three generations in the life of a country. As in many other such tales, the smaller story of love and family is enhanced and challenged by the larger story of politics and war, with a few delightful twists. At the heart of the tale is the daring, fearless Emilia, the second generation of pharmacist Diego Sauri’s freewheeling, politically astute family. His daughter Emilia is torn between two loves in a classic Wuthering Heights conundrum: choose your childhood friend, the rough and tumble radical who is unreliable and tortured, but makes your body sing? Or choose the gentle, steady doctor who can provide a home and a family, and never leave your side? As her nation and her village, her family and her career waver, Emilia sorts through this problem of the heart. In the end, her solution is so simple that we all wonder why we never thought of it. Well-written and adeptly plotted, this book is peopled by such a large number of endearing characters that you may go away with a virtual photo album of people you will always want to remember. I know I will. ( )

Mal de amores es un relato de una pasión entretejida a la historia de un país, de una guerra, de una familia, de varias vacaciones desmesuradas. es una obra cuya prosa nítida consigue arroparnos con su maestría, y nos regala los delirios de una invocación amorosa llena de desmesura y esperanza. ( )

There are plenty of reviews of this book on amazon, in Spanish and English (for me, the one who best sums up this novel with a strong & 'muy mexicana' heroine is a male reviewer from Colombia), so I'll just reiterate the sentiment of those who said they loved it (I also really LIKED all the characters, in a way that doesn't happen often.) And, I'll mention a few aspects that didn't seem to come up in other reviews: Emilia is a doctor: the unfolding of her life as a healer is fascinating, and timely even now. Her parents' love story, their verve as individuals and as a pair, is a fabulous part of the story. And, the accounts of travel, within revolutionary- era Mexico and between Mexico and the U.S., are also likely to delight the mind's eye. ( )