Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies

Like Water for Chocolate is a novel that will be enjoyed by all romantics regardless of age, gender or culture. It is a tale of true love, family traditions and family secrets. Laura Esquirel writes in a most unique style, giving the reader "monthly installments" of "recipes and home remedies." Each chapter starts with a recipe and begins with Tita, skillfully executing a meal. Tita, literally born in the kitchen, has the ability to communicate her love and various emotions through food. This book takes plac during the Mexican Revolution and chronicles the events of three daughters and one very controlling Mama. The youngest daughter, Tita, is not permitted to marry, but is expected to care to care for her Mama till the day she dies. Unfortunately, Tita does not learn of this tradition until after she has fallen in love with Pedro, her soul mate. The story really takes off when Mama refuses to allow Tita to marry Pedro but instead offers Tita's sister Rosaura to Pedro. You will have to read the book to find out how it all develops. But, trust me it is worth it. This book will make you laugh and cry, your heart will ache and sing and strangely you mouth will water for the food prepared by Tita.

Like Water for Chocolate is classic romance-tragedy novel. This novel is rich in symbolism, family secrets and broken taboos. The story takes place in Mexico during the Revolution. Tita, the youngest of three daughters, narrates the story. The story surrounds the forbidden love between Pedro and Tita. Tita being the youngest is expected to forgo marriage and take care of her Mama until she dies. However, this does not deter Pedro and in an effort to be near to Tita, he marries her sister.Resulting in the whole family living under the same roof. The only way Tita and Pedro can express their love is through Tita's cooking. Tita has the ability to prepare exotic food with erotic effects. In one chapter she had received roses from Pedro and with the pedals prepared a dish of Quail and Rose Pedals. The dish had an extraordinary effect on the family. Upon eating the meal, the family was overcome with emotions of love and longing. With this newfound love language Tita and Pedro were able to communicate their forbidden love. The author, Laura Esquirel, writes in such a creative fashion provoking the sense and providing vivid images of sight as well as smell. This unusal novel combines a magical romance of true love with a mystical fairy tale, resulting in an enjoyable experience for any reader.

Like Water for Chocolate captured my interest, and my taste buds, from the very first page on. The novel is the fascinating story of a Mexican girl, Tita, whose mother, Mama Elena, forbids her to marry her lover, Pedro, due to a cruel family custom. Food thus becomes Tita's connection to the outside world. Tita uses the food dishes that she prepares for her family as ways of expressing both her different emotions and, most importantly, her profound love for Pedro. Esquivel's technique of writing the novel in monthly installments, incorporating recipes at the beginning of each chapter into the text of each chapter makes the novel even more interesting to read. This unique characteristic ties the story of Tita together on a higher level, and also is my favorite aspect of the novel. In addition, the novel is a good example of magic realism. Throughout the entire novel, common events are often portrayed in an unreal, strange manner. Such is the case when Tita realizes that she is not pregnant and also when Tita meets with Dr. Brown's dead grandmother. Esquivel therefore effectively uses magic realism to convey to the reader the emotions and passion so central to the novel. I highly recommend Like Water for Chocolate to all A.P. students. Not only is it an excellent story, but it also is an example of a type of literature that most high school students are not normally exposed to in high school. The novel's South American origin, and also its incorporation of magic realism, makes it extremely different from any other novel that my class read this past year. Like Water For Chocolate would therefore be a good book to add to the AP curriculum next year if only for the contrast that it would subsequently provide to the other works that are already permanently etched in the course.

I really had no idea what this novel was about when I started reading it. My book club chose it as their monthly selection, so I went into it blindly. Imagine my surprise...

Like Water for Chocolate is part love story/part fantasy that delves into the lives of a Mexican family during the Mexican Revolution. Tita, the youngest of three daughters, is the victim of harsh family tradition--she cannot marry and is subject to a life of taking care of her mother until the day she dies. What a shame for poor Tita, who is desperately in love with Pedro. So Pedro marries Tita's older sister in order to stay close to Tita. What happens after that can only happen in Soap Opera Land.

Very mystical, erotic and enjoyable until the last page, Like Water for Chocolate will definitely be remembered for a long time to come. Laura Esquivel has done a wonderful job writing this exceptionally creative, imaginative tale. Now I'm off to see how the movie compares!

This novel is sure to awaken all the senses! A deliciously woven story of culture and tradition, served over a bed of marvelous family recipes and garnished with the passion that only forbidden love can produce. "Like Water for Chocolate" is the story of three generations of Mexican women striving to secure a place of peace and happiness within a family immersed in traditions that are based more on sacrifice than nurturance. In the novel, we are introduced to the De La Graza family, headed by Mama Elena. Mama Elena rules her family with an iron claw. Uncompromising and unwilling to yield to anything that breaks tradition or the perception that her family is the model of refinement.

Tita, the youngest daughter, falls madly in love with Pedro, a man she is not allowed to marry. The customs of the family requires the youngest daughter to never wed. Instead, she is to take care of her mother until either of them dies. When Pedro comes to Mama Elena to ask for her permission to marry Tita, he is denied. Rosaura is offered instead; being the older sister and available for marriage. Pedro agrees to marry Rosaura as a way to stay close to Tita. Rosaura, being the obedient daughter, marries Pedro without consideration of the effect her marriage would have on Tita.

Gertrudis, a third sister, is the first to break free of Mama Elena's rule. Tita prepares a meal using roses pedals from a bouquet she received from Pedro (after he's married Rosaura). The roses re-ignite Tita's desires for Pedro. Mama Elena disapproves of Pedro's gift and demands that Tita destroy it. Instead, Tita uses the roses in a recipe. Stained with blood from the tight embrace with which Tita cradled them, she makes a sauce that will be served over quail at a dinner party. As the guest eat the quail in rose petal sauce, they are overwhelmed with desire, clutched by lust and longing. Tita and Pedro appear to be the source of the powerful passion. The chemistry between them flows through Gertrudis, filling her with passion so hot, so intense that she is unable to contain it. Neither cool air nor cold shower can extinguish the fire within her. Fleeing from a useless cold shower, Gertrudis runs naked through an open field in an effort to escape the fire of desire. She is swept away by a soldier on horseback who had fallen madly in love after capturing a single glance of her in the village plaza. This is but one example of how Esquirel blends the elements of food and passion to produce a splendid novel.

My only regret is that I can't read Spanish. On more than one occasion I felt there was something missing in the English translation of the novel. In her native language, I'm sure the author is able to express more fully the delightfully sensuous and deliciously romantic sentiments that the translators were not able to capture in English. A very solid and fun novel. Enjoy!