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

I've read this book three times and on each occasion I've been as enraptured by the story as I was upon my first reading. Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama Elena, and 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 sister, Tita is ordered to make the couple's wedding cake as punishment for daring to hope for love. Tita obeys, but can't stop herself from weeping as she makes the icing, working her tears into the meringue. As a result, when the cake is served to the wedding guests each person is suddenly overcome with an intense longing, for all the loves they've lost in their lives, for all the opportunities missed and sacrifices made. Mama Elena is convinced that Tita has vengefully poisoned the cake, but in reality Tita's emotions have inadvertently become tied to the dishes she creates in her kitchen. "Like Water for Chocolate" is filled with uncanny scenes and succulent recipes, all of which are narrated in the deft, enchanting voice of Tita's great-niece, who learned of her aunt's recipes by discovering her handwritten cookbook. Lively, entertaining and enchanting, if you haven't read this book - you must!

Laura Esquirel presents a book of magic, love, and destiny from the land of Mexico in her acclaimed novel Como Agua para Chocolate, which is translated as Like Water for Chocolate. The novel is about the story of Tita who, as the youngest daughter of the tyrannical Mama Elena, is oppressed by a family tradition that forbids her to leave her mother as long as she lives. The man of Tita's dreams, Pedro, marries her sister Rosaura when the matriarchal Mama Elena refuses to give her blessing of matrimony between Tita and Pedro. Upon the marriage between Pedro and Rosaura begins a life-long feud filled with jealousy, deception, passion, and, ultimately, love. Like Water for Chocolate is narrated by Tita's grand-niece who interweaves the recipes of her great-aunt with her legendary story. This novel incorporated with humor, sorrow, magic, and true love, represents an originally eccentric fairytale story.
The story of Tita has the basic fairytale style in which an obstacle prevents her from following her dream. Her evil and oppressive mother forbids her to marry her love while her sister "steals" that very love from her. Mama Elena is depicted as an spiteful and dictatorial mother who has no compassion for her daughter Tita. Mama Elena imposes on Tita the family tradition that she must serve her mother until her death. Restricted by this unfortunate fate, Tita is not able to fulfill her ambitions. Even though Rosaura is not a formidable sister, she is caught in her mother's scheme to marry Tita's love, Pedro. Hence, Mama Elena and Rosaura's character serve to represent the impediment in Tita's life.
Each chapter of the novel begins with a recipe that relates or reflects the highlight of the particular chapter. Tita perceives her duty to cook for the family as a privilege she cherishes. Tita has no right in the household of Mama Elena; however, cooking serves as means of expressing her conflicting emotions. Tita's emotions, sorrow, anger or happiness, emerge out in her cooking. For instance, as Tita is preparing her sister and Pedro's wedding meal, she weeps absorbed by a heart ache and grief. When the guests start eating the meal she made, they all start to remember lamenting moments in their lives and begin to weep to ruin her sister's wedding. Tita's cooking has magical effect on those that consume her meal by causing them to experience the emotions she is enduring. While the recipes in each chapter depict the rich culture of Mexico, they by enlarge, serve to metaphorically represent Tita's state of mind.
Esquirel's use of magical realism in the novel contributes to the fairytale aspect of the story. The final scene of the novel represents the most eccentrically magical and romantic moment in the story. Tita and Pedro are finally together after her sister's death. As they are lying in bed in state of bliss, Pedro dies. Upon realization of his death, Tita she begins to eat a box of candles one by one. As she chews, she lies next to Pedro's dead body and thinks of all the fondest and brightest memories she had with him, which causes their bodies to set in flames. As their bodies burn in the flames, Tita and Pedro's soul join and lives on forever. This uniquely romantic ending interweaved with magical realism finalizes Esquirel fairytale.

I had to read this book for a school project and I had no clue what it was about. At first I didn't really want to read it, but as I delved into the book, I really started to like it. Laura Esquivel really captures the reader's attention and got the reader to feel each character's emotions. She uniquely tied in recipes to the plot of the story since the book centered around the kitchen. This is really an intriguing book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

her best book. it is so romantic! Makes you feel like you are in the story.

I'd first read `Like Water for Chocolate' about 10 years ago and had found it simply amazing. Then again, it had been the my first contact with a book so unique ... the first novel to talk about the "magical" power of food, a combination which is now much more common thanks to writers and books like Joanne Harris' wonderful `Chocolat', Lily Prior's `La Cucina', Anthony Capella's `Food of Love', and Isabel Allende's `Aphrodite' and many others. In fact many of my favourite books fall into what has now become a genre in its own right.

`Like Water for Chocolate' may have lost some of it's uniqueness over the years but much of its magic and power is still there - even for a reader that's become much more jaded over the years. Well worth a read.