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 realism, mostly in connection with food. Crying floods of tears from onions, eating rose petals ignites everyone's loins, that kind of thing. However, it's constructed in a way that is not entirely unbelievable.

The plot/story will definitely appeal more to women than men (basically, Tita and Pedro are in love, but because Tita is the youngest (or the oldest? I forget), she must stay single and take care of her mother. Pedro is forced to marry Rosura in Tita's place, which he does, so that he can still be close to Tita.), but at the end of the class I read this in, most of the men admitted that they liked it.

Apparently the movie was trite, soft porn, so if you've seen that and haven't read the book, don't let that effect your judgment!