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Like Water for Chocolate

by Laura Esquivel, Carol Christensen (Translater), Thomas Christensen (Translator)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 · rating details · 187,805 ratings · 3,876 reviews

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit.

The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, "Like Water For Chocolate" is a romantic, poignant tale, touched wi...more

Paperback, 246 pages

Published October 1st 1995 by Anchor (first published 1989)

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Dec 03, 2012 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Lovers of Magical Realism; Lovers of Food

Shelves: magical-realism, women, mothers-and-daughters, love, domestic, mexico, latin-america, international, latino, mystic, movie

Tita de la Garza lives a life of self-sacrifice in revolutionary Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. There is power, love, and life in food, and this novel explores the life force of food and the women who nourish us by starving themselves of their own desires in order to do so.

Food takes on mystical qualities, and Laura Esquivel structures her story into 12 monthly chapters, each centered around a recipe with exotic ingredients that is central to the plot of the chapter: Christma...more Tita de la Garza lives a life of self-sacrifice in revolutionary Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. There is power, love, and life in food, and this novel explores the life force of food and the women who nourish us by starving themselves of their own desires in order to do so.

Food takes on mystical qualities, and Laura Esquivel structures her story into 12 monthly chapters, each centered around a recipe with exotic ingredients that is central to the plot of the chapter: Christmas rolls; wedding cakes; quail in rose petal sauce; turkey sauce; chorizo (sausage); matches; ox tail soup; Champandongo; chocolate; cream fritters; beans; and chiles in walnut sauce.

Tita has a sixth sense about food, and, just as a poet plays with words, she juggles ingredients and quantities while still remaining faithful to the culinary secrets from ancient times.

Tradition decrees that Tita, the youngest daughter, must serve her mother, Mama Elena. Denied love, Tita swallows her sorrow and flavors meals with her tears. How does a cook’s mood affects her food?

Each of us is born with box of matches inside us, but we can’t strike them all at once or by ourselves:

You must take care to light the matches one at a time. If a powerful emotion should ignite them all at once, they would produce a splendor so dazzling that it would illuminate far beyond what we can normally see; and then a brilliant tunnel would appear before our eyes, revealing the path we forgot the moment we were born, and summoning us to regain the divine origins we had lost. The soul ever longs to return to the place from which it came, leaving the body lifeless.(117)

Tita, like the matches, awaits kindling and illumination. Courage and persistence are needed for liberation and self-determination, and few people are prepared to pay the cost.

The title, “Like Water for Chocolate,” conveys the idea that water is better than milk for hot chocolate but must be brought to the brink of boiling several times. Care must be taken with quality chocolate, which can easily become bitter or scorched. In what way is Tita water for chocolate? Will Tita ever find freedom? Love?

Conclusion
This is a four-star book to which I awarded five stars, as I do to all good books that change me in some way. Very often, we consume without appreciation for the love, the skill, and the hard work expended on our behalf. I suppose every family has these women with servant-hearts who toil without glory or even recognition– who sacrifice for others and defer their own dreams. History celebrates the conquerors, whose stories I know too well, so I was grateful to author Laura Esquivel for revealing to me and forcing me to acknowledge this more important realm of the domestic hearth and to honor the women of this world who possess skills, wisdom, and love greater than my own.

June 3, 2012(less)

60 likes · like · see review

Apr 19, 2008 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

This book was disappointing. It felt overwrought and melodramatic.

Tita, the youngest daughter of overbearing Mama Elena, has to give up the hope of ever marrying. It will be her duty to take care of her mother in old age. This becomes a big problem when she meets Pedro. When Pedro learns of Tita's duty to her mother and impossibility of future marriage, he agrees to marry Tita's sister, just so he can be closer to Tita. This sets in motion this fable of unrequited love that is the thread through...more

36 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2009 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people in love, sexy folk, and romantics

Recommended to Amanda by: Zeke, regarding lovers and pie

Shelves: recommended-by-others, 2009

If all the lights inside you can be lit at once, your heart will burst, and infinity becomes permanent.

Fuck. My heart is beating hard these days. Poor Tita makes it beat harder. A beautiful sad story of forbidden love and orgasmic passion, Tita and Pedro's tale is the hope that love IS enough after all. At that life is worth living...

Three stars for the book in general, plus one because I'm feeling so "in love" these days.

16 likes · like · see review

Oct 01, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nancy-pearl

Okay, so maybe more of a 3 1/2 star. I have a love/hate relationship with magical realism and, if anything, part of my disappoint with the novel comes from the fact that there's not as much "magic" as I had hoped for (I prefer Isabel Allende's House of the Sprits by comparison). However, I still enjoyed the novel as it was unique in its structure and the conduit for the magical aspects of the novel--food--was beautifully rendered in the recipes and descriptions of the connection between food and...more Okay, so maybe more of a 3 1/2 star. I have a love/hate relationship with magical realism and, if anything, part of my disappoint with the novel comes from the fact that there's not as much "magic" as I had hoped for (I prefer Isabel Allende's House of the Sprits by comparison). However, I still enjoyed the novel as it was unique in its structure and the conduit for the magical aspects of the novel--food--was beautifully rendered in the recipes and descriptions of the connection between food and culture, as well as food and memory.

Tita, the youngest daughter in her family, is doomed by tradition. She grows up knowing that she will never marry as it is her fate to take care of her tyrannical mother as she enters old age. Tita might have been able to resign herself to her destiny if it weren't for Pedro, the man with whom she falls passionately in love at first sight. Tita's mother, of course, forbids the marriage and instead does the unthinkable--offers Pedro her eldest daughter Rosaura's hand in marriage. Pedro, the effin' fool that he is (oh, that's my other complaint with the book; I did not cotton to Pedro, although, to be fair, he's not a very well-developed character and so his actions come across as moronic since his only driving impulse is to be with Tita), accepts because it is the only way he can be near Tita. Oh, yeah. You know that's a plan that's going to end in a fustercluck.

Tita is both elated to know that Pedro is only marrying her sister out of love for Tita and depressed by the fact that their love is to go unconsummated as long as her mother's eagle eye ensures that the two are kept apart. Unable to express her innermost desires, they instead surface in her famed cooking. Ordinary meals become an emotional feast as those who eat her food are consumed by Tita's suppressed passion, anger, and resentment.

The episodic structure of the novel is genius, separated month by month and beginning with the recipe around which the story will revolve.

The characters are somewhat one-dimensional, but given that the novel has a fairytale quality to it and reads more as myth than reality, I'm willing to forgive that. What ruined the entire novel for me was the ending. I don't want to ruin it for other readers, so I will simply say that I don't think Tita chose the right man and leave it at that.(less)

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Feb 03, 2008 Jared Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Few times does an author create something completely unique; Laura Esquivel has accomplished just that. Her themes of passion, familial insubordination, dictatorial governance, and romance are not new to literature. But communicating those themes through family life on the ranch of northern Mexico using magical realism and monthly recipes as metaphors is truly pioneering.

Tita is a suppressed daughter of Mama Elena, head of a Mexican ranch at the time of the Mexican Revolution. Tita was denied t...more Few times does an author create something completely unique; Laura Esquivel has accomplished just that. Her themes of passion, familial insubordination, dictatorial governance, and romance are not new to literature. But communicating those themes through family life on the ranch of northern Mexico using magical realism and monthly recipes as metaphors is truly pioneering.

Tita is a suppressed daughter of Mama Elena, head of a Mexican ranch at the time of the Mexican Revolution. Tita was denied the consent of her mother to marry her true love, Pedro, who decided to wed Tita’s older sister to be close to Tita. It is a recipe for disaster. What ensues is how Tita progresses and finds happiness under her mother’s masterdom.

Food becomes the central metaphor in Like Water for Chocolate, as a life sustainer and a passion stimulant. Tita expresses herself through the food she prepares, obtaining a degree of creativity and professionalism that is obtained only through generations of tradition; she becomes the family nurturer, feeding babies, the sickly and the healthy. Food is the way that this matriarchal Mexican ranch family sustains their culture and tradition.

The political allegory is also significant, mapping what the key personalities are under a stifling dictatorship. Mama Elena maintains her power with the force of her own personality: personalismo. When that doesn’t work, she cites tradition and “respectability.” The third line of power is fear and castigation. Past political dictators have used all of these leadership tactics to maintain their regency. All of the characters have interesting allegorical places: Rosaura the ideological conformist, is a weak personality who carries on the traditions set by her mother without realizing why she is doing them. Gertrudis plays the rebel and Pedro the selfish conformist. Pedro abides by his mother-in-law’s rules but tries to maximize his own happiness without contributing to the happiness of others. Marrying the sister of the woman he loves is a solution of someone who cannot think outside the box. He only marries Rosaura because Mama Elena suggests it—the marriage is within the rules. If he were a true free-thinker, he would run away and liberate Tita at the beginning.

By setting the novel against the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel shows how a family and a country can change its dogmatic and unproductive traditions. Just as the country overthrows its leadership, the De La Garza family overthrows Mama Elena and changes how it functions. The daughters of the De La Garza revolution decide just how they want to live after Mama Elena is gone.

The magical realism in Like Water for Chocolate makes the novel fun to read. From seeing ghosts to Gertrudis bursting the shower into flames, the novel becomes more of a tall-tale than a historical novel. These magical phenomena accentuate the humanity of the characters—using the magical elements to put the characters in positions where their true emotions can be seen. Overall, magical realism is an excellent technique in a well-written book.
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May 29, 2007 Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: romantics, women, fans of magical realism

Shelves: fiction, own, for-school, just-like-a-woman, the-power-of-love, women-writers

This is kind of the ultimate chick novel, in that it's about unrequited love, romance, food, and it's a very well-written piece of magical realism as opposed to the kind of mass-produced romantic tripe that's marketed towards women these days. This is a beautiful, beautiful novel - not something that someone forged in order to meet a contract obligation stating that if they write a generic chick novel that they can follow it up with whatever they want.

This is filled to the brim with magical real...more

10 likes · like · see review

Mar 21, 2008 Shriya rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What an easily forgettable novel. The language was exceedingly childish, and the style of the novel massacred the subtlety with which magic realism is to be employed. This was my first taste of the famed Latin American style of writing, and I was sorely disappointed.

(Class discussions surrounding this book also bothered me - not only were we forced to read bad literature, we were forced to analyse it for meaningful content.)

The characters were not at all developed successfully; no motivations e...more

26 likes · like · see review

Sep 08, 2007 Aimee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

There are two things that made me want to try this book: the story, which is centered on food, and the word “chocolate” in the title. After reading it, I learned the book had more to offer. Set in a Mexican home, Like Water for Chocolate is a story about Tita, her love for Pedro and her talent for cooking. This, for me, is a unique book as each chapter begins with a recipe that the main character cooks in the story. With dishes like Turkey Mole with Almonds and Sesame Seed or Quail in Rose Petal...more

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Jun 16, 2007 Illyria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

This book was recommended to me by a friend after I sent her a couple of recipes touted as the surest way to win any guy's heart. And indeed the book is full of references to Mexican cooking; every chapter is preceded by a recipe.

I think my most memorable impression of this book is the way it sticks to hard realism one moment and strays into the realm of fantasy the next. It left me lurching trying to adjust my perception, until I finally gave up attempting to fit it into either realism or fant...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read2012, around-the-world, location-mexico, read2013, sff-audio

Tita is the youngest in her family, and is therefore tasked with taking care of her mother and becoming the cook of the family. She is not allowed to marry, and Mama Elena is determined to keep her from participating in any sinful activities.

Mama Elena can't keep Tita's emotions from having an impact on everyone who eats her food, however, and each chapter comes with its own recipe, its own emotion, and its own little tale of emotion manifested in food consumed. I love this part of the story, a...more

5 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2008 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Foodies, and anyone who enjoys a good love story

Recommended to Jessica by: Robin

The tradition in Tita’s family is to keep the youngest daughter unmarried so she can care for her mother until she dies. Tita is the youngest daughter. When she falls in love and mentions to her mother that young Pedro will be coming by to ask for her hand, the mother decides to have him marry her eldest daughter instead. Tita is further punished by having to cook the wedding feast and bake the wedding cake. Only, her emotions find their way in the food she prepares, and in the heart of everyone...more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 09, 2008 Roniq rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Food lovers, Hispanic Culture, those looking for a quick fun read

Shelves: books-i-ve-read-in-2008, favorites

I got this for .50 cents at the Bellevue Library Bookstore. I love that place. I've been wanting to read it for a long time. The older guy who sold it to me said "This book is weird". "Great, I said". My kind of Book. A tale of Mexican life complete with food recipes,monthly installments and Home remedies. I just spent time in Texas and really enjoyed being surrounded by Hispanic and Southern culture more than I am here in Seattle. I had never heard of a Frito Pie until I was in Corpus Chrisi. H...more

9 likes · like · see review

Feb 28, 2008 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lovers of love, magic, and food.

Shelves: books-i-loved

Like food for your romantic soul. I wanted to cry out of sheer joy and sadness at the completion of this novel. This is anything but a circular story. Unlike One-Hundred Years of Solitude, House of Spirits, or Kiss of the Spider Woman, this ending is one for the lovers of love. The story of Tita pulls you in so many emotional directions... love, hate, lust, creation, depression, conflicted desire, abandonment, depletion, deception, passion, love. For once, there is a main, female character that...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Ariana Quintano rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first started reading this book, I expected to get hooked right away. I anticipated a mix of family recipes and the drama that comes along with it. Many people I've spoken to have told me it was a great book. Well, I would have to disagree. I felt the content was engaging, but the language wasn't as exciting. It was basically the story of a mother and a daughter and their struggles as a family. The daughter falls in love with her sister's husband, which sounds pretty scandalous, but the w...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 03, 2007 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a5starbook

This is the story of Tita, a woman who is forbidden to marry her love, Pedro, because of a family tradition where the youngest girl can never marry and must take care of her mother instead. As a way to stay close to Tita, Pedro marries her older sister, Rosaura. Tita expresses her loss and heartbreak in her cooking and which become a part of every meal she creates.

Okay, I have to admit something here--I read this book after I watched the movie. I fell in love with the movie and wanted to read th...more

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2009 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, fiction, read-in-2009

I'm sorry to say that I found this book just plain odd! It got off to a good start. I loved the way each chapter started with a recipe.

Tita is in love with Pedro but as she is the youngest daughter she is not alowed to marry. She must look after her mother until her dying day. Pedro marries Tita's sister, Rosaura, to stay closer to her. I was fine with all this. I was fine with the elements of fantasy, to start with, but when Gertrudis is so hot that she sets the shower on fire and runs through...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 09, 2009 Sera rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary-fiction, library, own, 1001-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

5 likes · like · see review

May 05, 2010 Tanja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked the flow of this book. Each chapter is a month and a recipe is attached to it. The story revolves around these different foods the main character makes. There were times the writing wasn't completely clear and I had to re-read. I like vague, but not too vague. There was a little piece of magic to it and I liked that about it. Overall a fun little read.

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 22, 2008 Jen Cole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the way this book tells a very realistic story of the period. The prose is not pretentious but somehow the author is still able to tell an intricate love story without the sappiness of a romance novel. The ending of this story left me feeling a bit emotionally torn regarding each character's respective fates.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 21, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Feb 26, 2011 Tammy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, magic-realism, romance, favorites

Warning: This recipe may induce plenty of gushing. See notes below to see how severely affected this reviewer was... and still is)

1. Take one book
2. Add a few sumptuous recipes
3. Infuse with touches of magic realism
4. Add a heap full of fragrant flavours
5. Pour in a cupful of earthy, human emotion
6. Mix in a healthy dose of unresolved lust, tension and heated gazes

Pour in a bowl, mix them all together and watch as the perfect love story unfolds. Allow it to simmer, heat and send your system into...more

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Jun 15, 2011 Emily O rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: women-authors, people-of-color

Have you ever finished a book and thought "Man, this is going to be hard to review?" Because that's the first thing I thought when I finished this little book by Laura Esquivel. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments With Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies is a book that really left me conflicted. There were things about it that I absolutely loved, and things about it that made me very angry. The only way I can think to write this review is to explain what I found good and b...more Have you ever finished a book and thought "Man, this is going to be hard to review?" Because that's the first thing I thought when I finished this little book by Laura Esquivel. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments With Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies is a book that really left me conflicted. There were things about it that I absolutely loved, and things about it that made me very angry. The only way I can think to write this review is to explain what I found good and bad, and let you all come to your own conclusions.

First, let's start with the good things. I loved the way this book was written. Like Water for Chocolate reads like a folktale, and a fun one at that. Some people's reviews that I've read found the magical realism trite or annoying, but I found it really endearing. The book managed to be an easy, quick read without sacrificing quality. Now, I cannot review this book without talking about the recipes. The book is split up into monthly installments, and each month has a recipe that Tita makes that ties the story together. The recipe is given at the beginning of each monthly chapter, and the instructions for preparation are woven into the story. Now, I'm a huge fan of cooking, so I found this idea to be really great. Since so much of the story takes place around and hinges on food, putting the recipes in the book makes perfect sense. I loved the way that the preparation instructions were included in the action of the story. Some people seem to find it gimmicky, but I thought it was a fun little addition to a book already filled with the tastes and smells of good Mexican cooking.

Now, for the things that troubled me. First of all, I have to admit that even though I'm a huge lover of all things fairy-tale and myth, I do not like the "love at first sight" narrative. It's not that I'm not a romantic, but I feel that real love is something that is built up from a knowledge of a person's character and personality, not something that magically happens when you see someone from across the room. As for Tita's beloved, Pedro, I honestly didn't like him. He spent the entire book being selfish, immature, and whiny. I have no idea what Tita saw in him. While this book started out with that "love at first sight" narrative, there is a point that it has the chance to go away from that narrative and treat love in a realistic and touching manner. Honestly, that was the ending I was hoping for, so I was pretty well disappointed with how the book actually ended. For me at least, the ending was the worst part of the book. I feel like it kept the book from really having any particular meaning or significance, and instead just avoided any difficulty and wrapped up as quickly and neatly as possible. It just wasn't satisfying.

There were also plot elements that I found really disturbing. There are some *spoilers* in the following paragraph. At one point Pedro completely ignores all concepts of consent and just assumes that Tita wants to have sex with him, even though she has denied him repeatedly because he is married to her sister and she is promised to someone else. Does he care about this? No. Is this seen as a problem in the book? No, of course not. As soon as Pedro grabs her and pulls her into a room, Tita magically forgets all of her previous objections, and it's just seen as more proof that they need to be together. Honestly, I find that to be pretty wrong. If somebody who I had repeatedly told to leave me alone just assumed that I didn't really mean it and that I really wanted to have sex with him and decided to pull me into a dark room, I would kick him so hard he would never want to have sex again. It wouldn't matter how much I actually loved him, if he can't respect my decisions he is not worth my time. Combine that incident with the not-very-sympathetic treatment of a rape victim at another point, and you can imagine that I wasn't exactly happy with the way this book treated consent. *End spoilers here* Basically, this book had some incidents that left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and made me wonder exactly what kind of love the author is trying to promote.

Overall, the good writing and fun recipes in this book did not outweigh the problematic elements in the narrative. As much as I wanted to, I could not let myself simply enjoy this book, because problems with the plot and the ideas in the book kept jolting me out of the magical world of the narrative. This book was supposed to be a great love story, but I couldn't help feeling that Tita ended up with the wrong man. The ending of the book was completely disappointing, and only served to cement my growing discomfort. For those of you who don't mind the things that I mentioned, this book could be enjoyable. For those of you who want realistic love and respectful healthy relationships, I would suggest that you stay away from Like Water For Chocolate.

Rating: not recommended
Good things: enjoyable writing, fun format, successful magical realism
Bad things: unrealistic love, unhealthy relationships, consent problems, unsatisfying ending

For more reviews, visit my blog at http://readingwhilefemale.blogspot.com (less)

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Jun 23, 2010 Felina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: star-3, audiobook, 2010

This book is totally and utterly bizarre. Its historical fiction with a slight hint of magic and in most places left me a little bit more hungry than entertained.

I would first like to point out that the miracle of child birth is lost on me. Perhaps it’s that I’m not married and have never been ‘in love’ and thus never felt the need to sire my own off-spring but the idea of pushing some 10 pound screaming larva out of my most delicate places totally grosses & freaks me out. So this books desc...more This book is totally and utterly bizarre. Its historical fiction with a slight hint of magic and in most places left me a little bit more hungry than entertained.

I would first like to point out that the miracle of child birth is lost on me. Perhaps it’s that I’m not married and have never been ‘in love’ and thus never felt the need to sire my own off-spring but the idea of pushing some 10 pound screaming larva out of my most delicate places totally grosses & freaks me out. So this books description of child birth, breast feeding and that ‘most beautiful feeling of babies in the womb’ mostly just made my naughty places ache.

But as far as hot and steamy goes, this book had plenty. I won’t lie that I enjoy a good romp in a book from time to time. Some of the ‘intimate’ moments were awkward and were I to be in Tita’s position I would have been completely mortified. But what I really liked about this book was the passion.

Sex, in our culture, is completely blown out of proportion, either conservatively or liberally. People either discuss it too often and explore its realms with reckless abandon or they tie it up and put it in a box and never discuss it. Sex is a part of life. Passion is a part of life and denying that natural part of ourselves leads to extreme underlying issues. Issues that I think this book discusses very well.
I don’t think a human being was ever meant to spend their entire life without ever having a single intimate moment. I think the lack of touch will drive a person to do things that they normally wouldn’t do. And mostly, I think religious beliefs about sex have destroyed what sex is supposed to be.

I think Mama Elena is a very clear symbol for tradition and how it stifles progression without ever bothering to ask if it still applies or was ever pertinent in the first place. It think she is a metaphor for this concerning sex, religion, politics or anything debatable. I’m not saying that progression for progressions sake is always the answer but I do think people should understand what they believe and make sure it still makes sense to them. Mama Elena’s beliefs concerning Tita’s ‘place’ in their family was based purely on tradition and did not take into account the person only the principle. An unfortunate lesson of bigotry that was passed down to Rosaura who, were it not for her untimely and most appropriate death, would have been a death sentence (more a term for a lack of living than an actual physical death) for little Esperanza.

Mama Elena’s frequent appearances after her death, goes to show how difficult it is for people to shuck beliefs instilled in them during their upbringing. Although Tita disagreed with the traditions forced upon her by her mother, until she confronted her issue and decided upon a course of action, her mother/tradition still haunted her.
I think Gertudis is the perfect example of what happens to people when their natural tendencies are stifled to the breaking point. Catching fire and running naked through a field only to be swept up onto a horse by a soldier to spend the rest of her days as prostitute and rebel commander? A bit much but you get the point.

Being that I come from a Mexican family, I found a lot of the modesty and professions of pureness to be extremely giggle-worthy. Mexican’s , in general, are a very passionate people. The only thing in this book that I thought was so appropriate to what I have learned about my own family was Mama Elena’s ‘transgressions’ in her youth. Don’t tell anybody but I know for a fact that a few of my father’s 13 brothers and sisters were not my grandfathers and that several of my grandmothers sister’s children look a great deal like my grandfather. O.o

For the most part I found this book to be disjointed, leaping from past to future without any indication. I liked the style of writing and as always, enjoyed the magic that was tossed into the book. And the recipes…oh god the recipes. Makes me want to go visit my little Abuela and get some good old fashion Mexican cooking. Mole and tamales here I come.
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Jun 22, 2010 Ariela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’ve read this book three times and on each occasion I’ve loved the story. Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama Elena. According to tradition Tita is forbidden from marrying her sweetheart, Pedro, because she is destined to take care of her mother until the day she dies. As a result Tita is relegated to a lonely life, with only her beloved recipes as an outlet for her emotions; and what happens in Tita’s kitchen is magical. For instance, when Mama Elena decides to marry Pedro to Tita’s older si...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Rosamund rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd say I enjoyed this. At first I thought the translation was dodgy - after all, how can you match up English, the thief of the language world, to Spanish, the tongue of sensuality? I actually found myself wanting to punch Mama Elena at times, which shows a creation of a good character, I suppose. There were little surreal twists every so often, which I liked. The ending was weird, but satisfying. But I have to say my eyes skimmed over the recipe parts - reading about how to castrate a turkey i...more

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Nov 27, 2007 Riannon Walls rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel, is probably my favorite book. It is the ultimate love story. The main character, Tita, is the youngest in the family. It is tradition on her mother's side of the family for the youngest daughter to care for the mother after the father passes away. The youngest daughter may not get married or create her own independence in case the mother needs her care. Tita's father has already passed, so she is burdened with the responsibility of taking care of her...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Saman added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

مثل آب برای شکلات داستان زندگی زنان نسلهای گذشتهٔ مکزیک است که به سبک رئالیسم جادویی و با زبان خانگی و فُرم زنانه (نوشتار زنانه) نگارش شده‌است. این رمان، عشقی زیبا را در کنار مبارزهٔ یک زن با سنت‌های جامعه خود نشان می‌دهد.

هر فصل از این کتاب با دستور آشپزی و یا داروسازی جالبی شروع شده و به موضوع آن فصل مرتبط می‌شود.

این کتاب در سال ۱۹۸۹ نوشته شده و درسال ۱۹۹۲ نیز فیلمی بر اساس آن در مکزیک توسط Alfonso Arau ساخته شده‌است. کتاب به ۳۰ زبان ترجمه شده و بیش از سه میلیون نسخه از آن چاپ شده است. .

نام کتا...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2008 Kathleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Cooks :)

I'm starting to feel a little hyperbolic - is it wrong to rate everything you put in here as 5 stars?? But - I personally, love this book. I've never seen the movie - I heard it was alright, but not great.

The book - I just love it. But maybe that is because I tend to love the whole Latin-American magical realism genre. The way the veil between living and dead is non-existent, the universally accepted emotional and supernatural cause and effect, the subconscious made into real daily life.

And the...more

5 likes · like · see review

Sep 14, 2008 Lavinia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, fiction

es una telenovela mexicana incarcata [si ea] de acelasi realism magic pe care l-am intilnit la marquez, doar ca la un alt nivel.

ingrediente: familie cu trecut mai putin cunoscut, o mama [elena] ca un tartor si 3 fiice din care: una fuge de acasa cu unul din revolutionarii lui pancho villa [gertrudes], una care se marita cu iubitul alteia [rosaura], si cea din urma [tita], privata de iubit si obligata sa nu se casatoreasca pentru a-si ingriji mama la batrinete.

se iau cele patru femei si se ameste...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 18, 2008 Heather Andersen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Conceptually, I loved this book. Who can resist a story that is artfully blended with delicious recipes, and even includes the full recipe at each new chapter? I would like to give it the benefit of the doubt and suppose that I read a bad translation (the book is originally in Spanish) but no...I think it's a great concept destroyed by ugly writing.

It took two days to finish, and would have taken less but I only read it in short snatches of down time over a weekend. The language was simple, not...more

7 likes · like · see review

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About Laura Esquivel

A teacher by trade, Laura Esquivel gained international attention with Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies and The Law of Love. In both books she manages to incorporate her teaching abilities by giving her readers lessons about life. During an on-line Salon interview with Joan Smith, she said, "As a teacher I realize that what one lear...more

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Quotes from Como agua para chocolate

“[...] each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves” — 76 people liked it

“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves; we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle would be any kind of food, music, caress, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches. For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive it. Each person has to discover what will set off those explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. That fire, in short, is its food. If one doesn't find out in time what will set off these explosions, the box of matches dampens, and not a single match will ever be lighted.” — 45 people liked it

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