In this summary of youth in ecstasy, you will be able to know all the essentials of the novel by Carlos Cuauhtémoc Sánchez, a story of love, learning and a little pain, I know you will like it
Novel of literary genre, published in 1993 in Mexico
Summary of Youth in Ecstasy
The work narrates the life of Efrén Alvear, a young future dentist, who leads a disorganized life and, due to bad decisions, ends up with a venereal disease.
Efrén has an unconventional concept about relationships and sexuality; he believes in sexual freedom, that is, he considers that it is not necessary to be married or have a permanent partner to have sexual relations.
His thought will be his noose around his neck, since, by having sex with a stranger and without protection, he ends up contracting a serious sexual disease.
He ends up going to the office of Dr. Asaf Marín, a sexual specialist, a conventional man and somewhat conservative in his idea of sexuality, since he points out that sex before marriage, liberal and without love, is wrong, because it could bring with them diseases or little ecstasy of pleasure. Efrén, he would create a bond with Dr. Asaf, learning and growing with him.
In the course of the play, the protagonist will touch on issues such as abortion, marriage, pre-nuptial sex and life as a couple, learning from each one and building a more mature approach to each aspect, to the point that he ends up falling in love with Dhamar. , Dr. Asaf's receptionist.
She believes in the essence and meaning of marriage, being a key piece for Efrén to change his position when passing the play, to the point that he ends up marrying her.
At the end of the play, it is discovered that Dr. Asaf Marín is Efrén's father, through a gift given by him, where he made him understand what relationship he shared with him.
Efrén had always thought that his father had died, however, it was not so. With his father was her sister Marietta, who was not dead either, but rather hidden so that her stepfather would not harm her.
At the end of the novel, each character achieves closure and growth. Efrén puts aside his immaturity and fears, and joins ties with what would be the love of his life. He would put aside the grudge against his mother and establish a strong bond with his father, leaving the viewer moved by everything that happened.
Summary of Youth in Ecstasy: Part One, Sex for Pleasure
The book begins at a college party with a group of male friends talking about their sexual experiences, each feeling proud of what they've done, regardless of the damage or trouble they've caused. They mock each other for the "conquests" achieved.
José Luis, one of those who was in the group, explains in a mocking way that man is a simple being to satisfy. On the other hand, women have the peculiarity of being more complicated at the time of sex, since they paint a fairy tale, where love is necessary for pleasure to exist.
Efrén introduces himself here, mentioning what happened with his ex-girlfriend, Jessica, who had a fantasy that because they had sex, they would get married. A fantasy that Efrén did not hesitate to kill, thus achieving the separation of both.
Later, Joana arrived, one of the sexiest girls in the university. Efrén approaches her and convinces her to have sex, ending both in a hotel until the next day.
Chapter 2: Sex Addiction
Efrén, after having sex with Joana, ends up going to her home and when he arrives he feels a strange burning sensation, but decides not to pay attention, until an intense itching began near his genitals, there he understood what was happening: he had been infected with an STD .
He was euphoric about everything, he knew he had two problems: a possible sexual disease and a terrible sexual addiction, without measuring the limits of what he could do. He decides not to give it much thought, but the fever was intense, he doesn't know what to do, so he decides to go to bed and solve tomorrow.
Chapter 3: Venereal Infection
Efrén woke up fast, he had a fever and the itching had increased. He was scared not knowing he had it, the uncertainty of having HIV worried him, he knew from close experience that it was a highly contagious disease.
He looks in his mother's room for something to guide him to know what he has, but ends up getting a card from a doctor of sexual diseases, Dr. Asaf Marín.
Waiting, he notices the secretary and is impressed by her beauty, but decides not to approach or try anything, since his reason for visiting embarrassed him, at that moment Dr. Asaf arrives, inviting him to enter.
Inside the office, Efrén tells about his symptoms and how indignant he felt about them (he felt confident). Despite this, the doctor explains that this was due to having relationships "without love", which brought a sneaky and quick response "I just have normal relationships like anyone else", something that Asaf would not agree with so much.
The doctor explained that if he continued on that path he would become cold and nothing would please him, causing both of them to enter into different controversies; for love, sex and abortion. The last issue was the most debated between the two, so that Asaf was against it and Efrén agreed, exclaiming that youth had already changed.
It all ends with both of them angry, the doctor prescribes some medication, an analysis and gives him a CD that contained content on abortion, so that he would think more about his position.
Summary of Ecstatic Youth, Chapter 4: Abortion
He arrives home and sees Joana, however, he leaves her outside because he feels disgusted by how she looked. Joana had spots on her skin and petulant breath, which made her think that she might have syphilis; he leaves her outside and goes in to see the movie that the doctor gave him, he was perplexed with what he saw.
The film showed how an abortion was performed, something that made him feel bad and, in turn, remind him of how he sent his ex-girlfriend to undergo the same process, understanding that he had done wrong.
Chapter 5: Can't Wait Until I Get Married
After several days without falling asleep because of the video, Efrén returns to the office. Here they explain that he has herpes simplex 2, which is not curable but treatable.
Later, he admits to being wrong about his position on abortion. Despite this, they both kept clashing in their thoughts about sex, ending with both of them upset again.
Asaf explained that sex is not ruled out, but if there are no limits, many will end up the same way as Efrén. The best thing was to wait, meet and do it when there was really love.
Chapter 6: The Role of Parents
Efrén meets Dhamar after leaving the consultation, invites her to eat so he can talk with her for a while. Both talked about their childhood and their relationships with their parents, determining that parents are important for personal development and that mistreatment of them can bring discomfort in the future.
Efrén, after his departure, began to look for work, finding a job in a bank. He calls the doctor and Dhamar to thank her, but writes a letter to her in order to confess her feelings towards her.
Chapter 7: Falling in love
Dhamar ends up accepting the date and they both meet at the restaurant, where Efrén hands him the letter, she reads it and is shocked by the statement. Talking and reading the doctor's magazine, they conclude that love and sex when they are reciprocated create a strong connection like no other.
Summary of Youth in Ecstasy: Part Two, sex for love
This part is divided into 10 chapters, which narrates Efrén's growth and maturity, closing his cycle of womanizing and liberal sex, just to be able to reconcile his love with Dhamar, a person who little by little became his true love.
He began to look for a job and began to be honest with his feelings, writing a letter to Dhamar, where he confessed everything he felt and she is surprised, because she feels the same, but she is afraid of Efrén's old habits and philosophies.
However, Efrén had to confront Joana, due to a confusing pregnancy issue, since they believed that he could have made Joana pregnant, but it was not so.
Efrén changes university and formalizes a relationship with Dhamar, both end up falling in love, even if they had a busy life, they always managed to reconcile a moment for both of them. However, this would be interrupted by the fact that Dhamar had to go away for a while to help his father.
Chapter 6,7 and 8
Efren was very bad after this, so he ended a time isolated, until he received a message from his sister, Marietta, who explains that he should not sink into despair, but fight against it, invites him to read the bible, signaling to him that he will find peace with it.
After the letter, Efrén is determined to ask for Dhamar's hand when she finishes helping her father. Finally the day arrives, they meet and end up engaged, later getting married and going on their honeymoon to the Caribbean.
Chapters 9 and 10
When they return, the doctor gives them an apartment, which surprises Efrén. Once in the place, they begin to fully visualize it and realize that there is a painting with a dedication from Efrén's mother to Doctor Asaf.
Within hours Asaf would explain the reason for this dedication, he was his father. The news almost makes Efrén faint, at first he was not very receptive, but after Asaf explained what had happened, they both hugged each other and ended up forming a bond that they had been managing since the beginning of the novel.
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