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Apr 19, 2008

Kelly rated it:

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 th More...

8 comments like (23 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2009

Amanda rated it:

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"

13 comments like (13 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2012

Amanda rated it:

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 betw More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2008

Jared rated it:

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. T More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Taylor rated it:

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 More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Mar 21, 2008

Shriya rated it:

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 succes More...

4 comments like (15 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Aimee rated it:

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...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Illyria rated it:

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 More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2008

Jessica rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Roniq rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2011

Lauren rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2008

Ariana rated it:

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...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 03, 2007

April rated it:

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 wa More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 01, 2009

Jenny rated it:

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 r More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Sera rated it:

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

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 05, 2010

Tanja rated it:

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.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2008

Jen rated it:

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.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2011

Kate rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 23, 2011

Tammy rated it:

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 unfol More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2011

Emily rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 23, 2010

Felina rated it:

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 b More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 22, 2010

Ariela rated it:

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...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Rosamund rated it:

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...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2007

Riannon rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 22, 2008

Saman added it

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 More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 22, 2008

Kathleen rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2008

Lavinia rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 18, 2008

Heather rated it:

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 w More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jul 01, 2008

Anna rated it:

Why was this book considered, by some, a classic? It read like a smut novel to me. I enjoyed learning about Mexican culture, and this novel certainly gave me an unrealized appreciation for modern kitchen technology. It also makes me feel good about the fact that while once upon a time, women had servants to do the housework, laundry and cleaning, because it was too much to handle, I can handle it all myself. Okay, again, that's a huge appreciation for modern technology. Anyway, many of the relat More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 23, 2008

Eve rated it:

This now classic book is an exercise in passion for romance and food, sometimes the food builds the passion, other times it adds to the heartsickness. Three daughters are born to an overbearing mother, but it’s Tita that falls in love with Pedro and isn’t allowed to marry him because long traditions force the youngest daughter live out her life caring for the mother instead. (My husband had a secretary fifteen years ago that was living proof of this tradition.) Instead, Pedro is asked to marry More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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