Laura Esquivel

This had been on my bookshelf for years, and despite getting rid of it several times, keeps finding its way back onto my shelves. I finally sat down and read it and could not put it down. This book was completely engrossing. The language was languid and sensual, from the recipes included in the narrative to the actual story-telling.

This reads like a fable or a dream, and I loved it.

Because of a family tradition in which the youngest daughter cannot marry so she can take care of her mother, show more Tita is forbidden to marry her love, Pedro. Pedro instead marries Tita's sister Rosaura so that he could remain by Tita.

Told in twelve chapters for the twelve months of the year, each chapter revolves around a recipe that ties into the story.

This is magical realism at its finest. Tita's emotions come through in her cooking, causing longing for lost love, red hot lust, or sadness.

I'm really glad I finally picked this book up and read it. show less

Read it in college and was stunned, in awe. Read it aloud with Althea and was still astonished, but also saw the tragedy more clearly. What I couldn't see in college was that the book is about how people who are abused end up conforming to the mold they are forced into-- they will repeat the actions of their abuser, and/or they will seek out a similar relationship because it fits who they are, how they know how to live. I also couldn't see that the book does not know how to depict a health show more relationship. What's great about this is that the book goes against conventional fiction. In conventional fiction, a main character would miraculously become self-aware and then rise above their circumstances. In Like Water for Chocolate, that appears to be happening, but the main character can never really escape who they are. That's left up for the next generation, hopefully, and they might not make it out either. Reading the book as an adult, I didn't long for Pedro and Tita to finally find a way to be together-- I knew that would be just as disastrous. I didn't like many of the decisions made by Pedro, Tita, and the other characters. That generation was not set up for success. The book argues instead that Esperanza, and/or perhaps Esperanza's daughter, might finally rise above the inherited pain handed down by the generations. Great writing, beautiful ideas and cleverness, wonderful food. Would read again. show less

A delightful little book, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate is almost a modern-day fairy tale. Told in monthly installments, the novel is simultaneously story and cookbook, filled with both recipes and home remedies and as well as the story of Tita, our heroine, who was born, raised and taught in the kitchen, and who has the amazing ability to cook her emotions into her marvelous recipes. Tita's story is one of longing, love and the need to be her own person; to escape the tyrannical show more presence of her mother and create her own life with the man she loves. It's a relatively fast read, but enjoyable all the same. show less

Although Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel covers the serious subject of the life of a woman in turn-of-the-century Mexico, it is a charming interpretation using magical realism to highlight the story. The author opens every chapter with a recipe and sets pretty much most of the action in and around the kitchen as that recipe is prepared.

We follow the destiny of Tita, the youngest daughter of a well born rancher. Her story is not a particular happy one as she has been raised to show more remain single and look after her aging mother. Tita does fall in love, but her mother quickly puts a halt to the relationship and, in fact, offers Tita’s love interest, Pedro, the hand of her sister. Tita learns to express herself through her cooking and pours her emotions and thoughts into the food she prepares. When she is forced to make her sister’s wedding cake, the power of her thoughts causes every guest to burst into tears when they taste the cake.

In a light-hearted, almost breezy style, the author uses cooking to describe Tita’s frustrations, hope and love in this unusual folk tale. The book is playful, sensual, earthy and engaging and was the perfect read to keep my mind away from the seriousness of real life. show less