Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!!!
Review: This was a good book on romance and tradition. I loved the book. Pedro loved Tita. He would do anything to marry her, even to marry a sister he didn't love to be close to the one he couldn't have. For those who rated the book very low. should understand the culture first. Maybe the book wasn't for you to read for understanding/rent the movie maybe it will make sense to you. It's in video. Oh it is a foreign film with subtitles.
Rating: 
Summary: STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK
Review: This book shouldn't have even been printed! If it weren't for english teachers all across the nation, this book wouldn't have sold 1 copy. I couldn't believe that I had to waste my time reading this joke of a book. It shows women with no self respect, lust, and encourages men to cheat on their wives.
Rating:
Summary: Actually i'd rather give this piece of crap zero stars.
Review: this book is too graphic. and the begining is so confusing. there's too many characters. and does the author reallly expect us to, after reading this stupid book, make a friggin quail in rose petal sauce. first of all i don't believe in eating animals that represent pets and second of all, i don't eat flowers. and do we really want to hear about her nipples hardening in the cold shower. no not really. and lastly i don't think this book is worth ten dollars and while borrowing this piece of trash, i lost it while taking the stupid STAR test and i now owe my teacher ten dollars, or a new book. and another thing: why would any sane woman let a dirty pigeon poop all over her, or eat candles and blow up with her boy friend stupid people.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple book with an outstanding and unpredictable conclusion
Review: I thought that Laura Esquivel's novel, Like Water for Chocolate, had a simple, yet motivating plot with rich elaboration on the character's emotions, thoughts and personalities. I also thought that the ending of the story turned out to be a "slap in the face" on the idea of love and happy endings compared to some of the more traditional love novels of all time. The author's style of writing and the captivating plot of the novel makes Like Water for Chocolate and absolute must read for everybody.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!
Review: Whenever I recommend books this is always a must read. I don't know what C. Meyers's drawn out novel is about. The story was great and i could not put it down. It's story is definitely colorful and different from any I have ever read!
Rating: 
Summary: I've read better books in English class
Review: This is a recent book I read for English. In its own way, LWFC is sensuous and touching but this is hardly a book I'd come to tears over. The whole story seems to have been told from an objective kind of view. Tita felt this, she did that. And that was the end of it. I couldn't really get into this book. I could hardly care what happened to Tita and Pedro. While reading I skipped many of the recipes because they were becoming repetitive and tedious. This was an easy read and it wasn't boring at any part but you forget about it soon after you put it down.
Rating:
Summary: This was a disappointment
Review: Unfortunately I returned my copy of this book back to the store so I can't specifically slam it. I thought it was THAT bad. The characters are weakly developed-- they show little depth and intelligence. It's also poorly written or translated. It's emotional and gushy-- would be OK with the balance of depth and intelligence, but that is lacking. If you want good writing try Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude. LWFC is possibly a good children's book? Possibly teenagers might find value in it. but I wouldn't want my kids acting like the characters. It seems like a book for crazy women. I think Danielle Steele can write better than this. If romance is your thing try Wuthering Heights or Madame Bovary. I even liked Bridges of Madison County, but this book is awful aand doesn't even deserve one star.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: "Like Water for Chocolate" was a great read! The characters like Tita, Pedro, and her wild sister Gertrudis will haunt your mind long after you've finished the book. What I liked most was the mixing of cooking, love and erotica. What I disliked about the book was how at times, the language seemed straight out of a soap opera. But there is not one instant where the plot lost my interest. If you read it you will not regret it!
Rating:
Summary: One star more than this book justifies
Review: Before I read this book, I had heard nothing but favorable reports of it. I was saddened upon reaching the end to find that such reviews of its quality had been very greatly exaggerated. Before I tear into the story itself, I should point out that my disgust with the novel is not completely the fault of the author; the translation by Christiensen and Christiensen was greatly at fault as well. Their use of English was clumsy and simple, and whenever they had the opportunity to use a cliche one can be sure that they took advantage of the chance to do so. Thanks to their inept attempt at translation the novel read more like a soap opera written by a sixth-grader than a masterpiece of narration. However, poor translation cannot excuse all of this novel's myriad faults. The integration of the recipes with the storyline detracted from the plot, and the injections of household advice seemed more like afterthoughts than anything that would flow out of a natural conversation. One almost gets the impression that Esquirel collected all the snippets of advice she could find for running a house and threw a simplistic plot over it all so that people would find the book interesting. There is also a dearth of likeable characters in the book. By the time I got to the final page there wasn't a single character I didn't want to throttle, as each and every person portrayed in the book demonstrated a fundamental lack of common sense. Pedro constantly acts like a vain chauvanist, considering only his needs and barely giving Tita any thought at all. He even rapes her at one point in the book, yet as the narrative puts it he "throwing himself upon her, caused her to lose her virginity and learn of true love." (p158) Does this sound like true love? No. This brings me to the issue of feminism. First, I do not consider myself a feminist--I'm a typical middle-class white male literature major, hardly in a position to campaign for the issue. One of the praises I heard most frequently for this book was that it was a very feminist novel which encouraged the liberation of women. Indeed, reading some of these reviews I can see that it's a prevelant notion, whether the reviewer liked the novel or not. Unfortunately I cannot see how this could possibly encourage anything but feminine subservience--the female characters talk of nothing except men and who they'll marry, do nothing but meekly serve their husbands (or possibly Mama Elena), and Tita--the main protagonist, of all people!--spends her days in the kitchen cooking for the household and throwing herself at the feet of Pedro, whom nobody in their right mind could love. This book is the only novel I have ever thrown across the room in utter disgust. The beginning is weak, the plot is almost nonexistant, the ending throws women's liberation back by five decades, the recipes and other advice distract from the main narrative, and the portrayal of the characters is such that I was actually glad when each one met his or her respective end because it was one less annoyance. The translation was horrible, so it is possible this book comes across better in the original Spanish. Somehow, though, I sincerely doubt it.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I read this book several years ago and just recently purchased my own copy to keep in my "library". It's a quick read and just wonderful. I love the interweaving of the recipes and the imagery the writing style provides. The author just pulls you right into the lives of the characters. After you read this, rent the movie -- which is subtitled. Most of all, enjoy!
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