Like Water for Chocolate

Rating:
Summary: Yummy
Review: I didn't think I'd like this book when I had to read it for a class. It's just not my style. I usually go for books about depressed male characters (such as myself) like The Moviegoer and The Catcher in the Rye. This isn't one of those novels. Nevertheless, it was good. I should probably start looking for these romance/recipe novels more often. The novel's basically a mythological story about the passionate Tita who, unable to marry the one she loves, expresses her passion through her food. There are some hilarious moments and some really romantic ones. And Tita's definitely a character worth falling in love with. She's one that will drive you crazy (if I were female, I would never go for Pedro, but that's just me), but that really just makes the novel better. This is definitely a great novel for a light afternoon read. And I'm going to try some of the recipes, too. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Like Water for Chocolate Deserves 3.5 Stars!!!
Review: I think this book read more like a fairy tale, and I've yet to experiment with any of the recipes.

Tita loves Pedro,but because she's the youngest daughter, tradition has other plans for her. Pedro marries her
older sister instead just to be closer to Tita, but things don't work out as they'd like.

This book reminded me very much of Cinderella(the fairy tale). This was a good story, but it could have been much
better. For that reason, this reviewer gives Like Water for Chocolate 3.5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Great novel!
Review: Having seen the movie first, I decided to read the book: "Like Water For Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel. This fictional story based in Mexico tells of a young woman whom is destined by tradition to care for her mother in old age and be refused marriage. As luck would have it, she is in love with a man, who loves her as well. To be close to her, he agrees to marry her sister. The main character of the story puts her passion and sorrow into her cooking. Whenever she created a meal, the consumers of her dishes would display the emotions she had during the cooking process, whether it be sexual desire or extreme sorrow. This book is also broken up into months, offering a recipe each month, such as Quail in Rose Petal Sauce, Ox-Tail Soup, Wedding Cake and even how to make your own matches! If you enjoy love stories and Mexican food, this book may be an interesting read for you!



Rating:
Summary: Innovative and magical novel - a fantastic read!
Review: 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. Tita was denied the consent of her mother to marry her true love, Pedro, who decided to wed Tita's older sister to be close to Tita. It is a recipe for disaster. What ensues is how Tita progresses and finds happiness under her mother's masterdom.

Food becomes the central metaphor in Like Water for Chocolate, as a life sustainer and a passion stimulant. Tita expresses herself through the food she prepares, obtaining a degree of creativity and professionalism that is obtained only through generations of tradition; she becomes the family nurturer, feeding babies, the sickly and the healthy. Food is the way that this matriarchal Mexican ranch family sustains their culture and tradition.

The political allegory is also significant, mapping what the key personalities are under a stifling dictatorship. Mama Elena maintains her power with the force of her own personality: personalismo. When that doesn't work, she cites tradition and "respectability." The third line of power is fear and castigation. Past political dictators have used all of these leadership tactics to maintain their regency. All of the characters have interesting allegorical places: Rosaura the ideological conformist, is a weak personality who carries on the traditions set by her mother without realizing why she is doing them. Gertrudis plays the rebel and Pedro the selfish conformist. Pedro abides by his mother-in-law's rules but tries to maximize his own happiness without contributing to the happiness of others. Marrying the sister of the woman he loves is a solution of someone who cannot think outside the box. He only marries Rosaura because Mama Elena suggests it-the marriage is within the rules. If he were a true free-thinker, he would run away and liberate Tita at the beginning.

By setting the novel against the Mexican Revolution, Esquivel shows how a family and a country can change its dogmatic and unproductive traditions. Just as the country overthrows its leadership, the De La Garza family overthrows Mama Elena and changes how it functions. The daughters of the De La Garza revolution decide just how they want to live after Mama Elena is gone.

The magical realism in Like Water for Chocolate makes the novel fun to read. From seeing ghosts to Gertrudis bursting the shower into flames, the novel becomes more of a tall-tale than a historical novel. These magical phenomena accentuate the humanity of the characters-using the magical elements to put the characters in positions where their true emotions can be seen. Overall, magical realism is an excellent technique in a well-written book.


Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel (Translated by Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen

February 5, 2005


A book that has become a classic, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel is the star-crossed romance between Tita and Pedro. They are torn apart due to a "tradition" held in Tita's family that the youngest daughter is destined to live out her life taking care of her mother. Tita and Pedro have already declared their love for each other, but Mama Elena has other plans. Instead, Pedro marries an older sister, Rosaura, who he does not love at all, but he feels this is the closest he will ever get to his beloved Tita.

Each chapter begins with a Mexican recipe, and the chapters themselves are written as if for a cookbook, except in-between the instructions on how to make "mole", or how to cook Quail in Rose Petal sauce, Tita's story is told, narrated by an unnamed grandniece. It is the sad, yet sometimes humorous story of Tita's life, and how she is frustrated living as the youngest daughter in the house of De La Garza. Tita's father has been long deceased, and Mama Elena is the head of the household. She rules with a heavy hand and all live in fear of her. Tita, however, is the rebellious child, and is often beaten and punished for the simplest of things. Her biggest punishment is when Mama Elena declares that Tita will not be allowed to marry her love, Pedro, and instead Tita watches her sister take her place.

Her emotions are somehow transmitted to her cooking. By this time of her life, Tita is relegated to head cook, and she is good at it. But the pain and unhappiness she feels is now tasted in her cooking. At her sister's wedding, the guests become sick because of how Tita feels as she cooks the banquet feast. This is but one example where Tita's cooking seems to become more than just a meal, sending her own emotions into the food that she is cooking. I loved this element of magical realism, and I'm finding that the more I read books by Hispanic authors, the more sure I will be that I will encounter it.

As many books written by Latin American authors, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE spans many years, and although it is quite a short book, it does tell the story of two lives that are forever linked through love. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I hear it is just as good as the book. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is highly recommended by the Ratmammy.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful book to remember
Review: This story has everything you could ever want in a book!My friend recommended this book highly and she recommended a great new beverage that replaced my morning cup of joe. Caffeine made me too jittery so I switched to a soy-based coffee that taste simply amazing. When I use my percolator it comes out with a rich, full bodied taste. Search under "S oyfee" on google to find it.The heroine, Tita, is the youngest of three daughters this is a joy to read.


Rating:
Summary: Delicious Story....Spellbinding Read
Review: This review refers to the Audio Cassette edition(Bantam Doubleday Dell) of "Like Water For Chocolate"....

"Like Water For Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel, is a delicious romantic fantasy that will leave you ravenous for both more of the story and for some traditional Mexican dishes as well. The author cleverly interweaves the recipes and the loving preparation used, that mark the holidays, the signifigant moments and the passing of time in the life of the De La Garza family, in particular the love of two star-crossed lovers Tita and Pedro.

Tita is the youngest of three sisters. It is the family tradition that the youngest daughter has the duty to care for her mother until she dies. Tita may never marry or strike out on her own until this day. In Tita's case, this presents double trouble. First, her mother, Mama Elena, is not the most pleasant person to care for. She is a tough task master, and will not stray from this tradition in the least. It also means that Tita may never be united with Pedro, the man she shares a deep and passionate love with.

Yareli Arizmendi's reading is spellbinding. You can alsmost taste and smell the delights coming from Tita's kitchen as we follow her through the years, and she becomes the all important head chef for the family. The recipes themselves seem to hold the secrets of life and love in this wonderful journey through Tita's life and dreams.

This audio edition(ISBN 0-553-47255-0) is an abridgement(approved by the author) and runs about a little over 5 hours. (four 2 sided tapes). I could not find an unabridged version, but I must say that I enjoyed this one immensely. The tapes are a good quality, the recordings are very clear.

The story is magical. It's like a beautiful and more adult update of "Cinderella"....Enjoy...Laurie

Rating:
Summary: Like water for chocolate...
Review: A very fun and funny read (in a good way). I've enjoyed talking about it with the girls.

Rating:
Summary: water for chocolate
Review: The book, Like Water for Chocolate, was a very interesting book. Sometimes it was a little boring but most of the time it was suspenseful. The part that was the most exiting for me was when Tina and her sister were having an argument in the kitchen. Another part that I liked was when Tina told John that she was cheating on him. I recommend this book because it keeps you guessing a lot and you will be on the edge of your seat till the end of the book. You should really go out and get this book.


Rating:
Summary: Delicious tale that will whet ALL your appetites!
Review: `Like Water For Chocolate' is a story that will literally fill all your senses to overflowing, Espquirel's writing is so lyrical and animated that you can smell the sizzling sausages on the grill and taste Tita's pain as she watches life pass her by. It is a story of unquenched appetites and unrequited love, with over-the-top fantasy and a dash of mysticism.

This is the story of the De La Garza family; Mama Elena and her daughters, Rosaura, Gertrudis, and Tita. Being the youngest daughter, it is Tita's lot in life to remain unmarried and care for her mother until the day she dies. Tita's father died two days after her birth, leaving Mama Elena alone to run the ranch.

Tita was raised in the kitchen by the family cook, Nacha, and developed a relationship with food that left her being a superb cook, so she spends most of her time in the kitchens with Nacha.

But as Tita matures, young Pedro Muzquiz falls hopelessly in love with her only to be denied her hand in marriage because she is the youngest and has a duty to Mama Elena. Mama instead offers Pedro Tita's sister Rosaura, so Pedro marries Rosaura just so he can remain near Tita.

Tita's skills in the kitchen overflow into fantastical proportions; the wedding cake she bakes for her sister's wedding contained her tears as she prepared it, leaving everyone who eats it filled with a longing so poignant they become physically ill. And Tita's Quail In Rose Petal Sauce so potent with her desire for Pedro that it infects her sister Gertrudis, who runs off naked from the house to be swept up by a soldier on horseback and carried away.

At the beginning of each chapter is a month in which the story takes place, and a recipe that Tita will prepare. This makes the tale both fun and intriguing, and leaves you wondering what kind of passion Tita will stir up next, and who it will be served to. You will be turning pages rapidly, waiting for the tale's conclusion, and wondering if Tita will ever escape the iron hand of Mama Elena and find an outlet for all of her pent up desires.

This is an extremely well written book, a wonderful tale of unbridled passion, and appetites that go beyond the norm. Definitely worth full price. Enjoy!