Me encantò, por triste que me hizò poner

"Como agua para chocolate" de Laura Esquivel es una novela que combina de manera única la pasión, la cocina y la magia en un relato inolvidable. Ambientada en la Revolución Mexicana, la historia sigue a Tita, una joven atrapada por las tradiciones familiares y las expectativas sociales, mientras explora su amor prohibido con Pedro. El hilo conductor de la narrativa es la conexión entre las emociones de Tita y la preparación de alimentos, convirtiendo la cocina en una expresión artística y una forma de comunicación. Cada capítulo está vinculado a una receta que refleja el estado de ánimo de los personajes, creando una experiencia sensorial única para el lector. Esquivel teje elementos mágicos y realistas, fusionando la realidad y la fantasía de manera fascinante. La prosa es rica en detalles, evocando los sabores y aromas de la cocina mexicana, mientras explora temas universales como el amor, la familia y la liberación personal. Los personajes vibrantes y las relaciones complejas agregan profundidad a la trama. Tita se convierte en un ícono de resistencia femenina, desafiando las expectativas sociales impuestas por su madre autoritaria. Los elementos de realismo mágico intensifican las emociones y aportan una dimensión única a la historia. La estructura única y la narrativa rica en simbolismo hacen que "Como agua para chocolate" sea una experiencia literaria única. Esquivel logra capturar la esencia de la cultura mexicana y transmitir mensajes atemporales sobre la importancia de la autenticidad y la liberación personal. En conclusión, "Como agua para chocolate" es una obra maestra que fusiona la pasión y la cocina con un toque mágico. Laura Esquivel ha creado una historia cautivadora que trasciende fronteras culturales y continúa siendo celebrada como una joya de la literatura contemporánea.

The beautiful personification Laura Esquivel gives to the ingredients is amazing. It feels almost like a folk tale! Highly recommend!

Una entretenidilla y heteropatriarcal paja mental.

3.5

I love food, and I love magic realism, and I even sometimes love sappy romances. However, I am sad to report that I did not love this book.

4.5 Stars

This was the WTF book of the century.

3.5 stars

حين تأتيني رواية تأسرني بكم هذا الجمال في حين ابحث عن الشغف وسط موضه الكثير من الكتب بلا طعم بلا رائحه، اما هنا رواية تمتلىء بجميع انواع الطعام ومثقله بكثير من الروائح حلوه، منفره، خفيفه، وثقيله جميعها روائح تبقى، اطعمه تثير حواسك كلها اتجاهها تشعر وكانك تريد ان تقضم الكتاب لا ان تقرأه .. لقد اشتقت جدا لهذا النوع من الكتب ذو طبيعه تجعلك تذهب معاها الى بيتها الى زمانها لتسمع الحكاية منها تروى الرواية من قلب المطبخ تخبرنا بشكل بسيط "المشاعر هي ما ترك طعم طعامنا" ، تتذوق الحب في كعكه صُنعت بكل حب، يرتفع الحنين في فطائر مصنوعه من قلب حزين... في قطعه ما كانت تغني للفصولياء كي تطهى جيدا هنا شعرت بخفه قلب الكاتبه وبروعه وصفها بقدر ما يلقااه الطعام من مشاعر يطهى فهو يطهى على ومن مشاعرنا وليس عن طريق وصفه او بطريقه ما، وانسلخت عن روحي فجاه بنهايتها المفجعه التي تركتني صامته مكتئبه كيف فعلت بي ذلك ببساطه وبسرعه كانها ترفع ضماده عن جرح صغير ولكنه يحدث الكثير من الامل.. اخدت تلك الرواية الكثير من روحي وقضمت قليلا من افكاري... اتمنى ان لا انسى يوما كيف كنت حين قرأتها اول مره (ليس هناك حب اصدق من حب الطعام) ليس هناك يا تيتا غير هذا الحب الصادق الهاديء المخلص، بيننا وبين الطعام ساصف هذا الكتاب باختصار بانه كتاب طبخ مشاعر, ارشحه لكل من يريد ان يتذوق الحب من جديد

لا أعرف بالتحديد مصدر السحر في روايات أدباء أميركا اللاتينية، لكن رواياتهم دائمًا ما تزخر بالبهجة والشجن والموسيقى والغموض والألوان والنكهات، ودائمًا ما يختلط فيها الواقع بالخيال دون افتعال، بل ودون أن يكاد القارئ يشعر بالخيط الرفيع الفاصل بين ما هو حقيقي وما هو غير ذلك، دائمًا ما تأتي رواياتهم ملحمية كالأساطير القديمة، ودائمًا ما تدور أحداثها في عوالم ساحرة وغامضة تشتعل في خلفيتها حروب وثورات لا تنتهي ربما كجزء من ثقافة وتاريخ تلك المنطقة من العالم، شخصياتهم فريدة ومبتكرة، قلما تجد ما يشبهها في أدب الشعوب الأخرى، هذه الرواية من النوع الذي تشعر بافتقاد شخصياته بعد الانتهاء من قراءته وكأنهم أشخاص فعليون عشت معهم تلك الأحداث

من اعزب الروايات التي قرأتها موخرا البطلة تيتا توصف كل منحني من منحنايت حياتها باستخدام احد أطعمة اليوم المميزة الرواية عبارة عن جرعة من الجمال والسحر المكسيكي

حقيقي رواية عظيمة جدا كعادة الادب الاتيني كانت اجمل مفاجئة في عيد ميلادي

So, this is kind of hard to rate. On the one hand, it was good before bed reading and a charming story; on the other hand, the romance seemed implausible and the style felt a bit childish at times. So three stars, not four.

This book is organized in seasons and months, with a new recipe at the beginning of each section. The food imagery continues through out, and often left my mouth watering. The book is magical realism, which was a little bit difficult for me to grasp, but it was well written.

Magical realism, Mexican recipes and home remedies, love stories, and scandal. A really entertaining novel with a unique method of storytelling.

Like Water for Chocolate, the first novel by Laura Esquivel starts with onions and a birth. Chopping onions, that bring about a wave of tears. This opening is apt because the entirety of the novel weaves together food and emotions. For me, this is actually a re-reading. My copy is a stolen one, taken from a beach house my family stayed in one spring, probably after I’d finished all the mystery novels I’d brought down with me. I’m not sure why I grabbed it. Maybe I gravitated toward the cheery cover, or perhaps the moderate size. Still, I’m glad I did. Because once I started reading, I was fully sucked in. Like Water for Chocolate was my first intro to magical realism, now one of my favorite storytelling tools. Tita de la Graza, our passionate protagonist, finds her home in the kitchen of her family’s large Mexican ranch. Nurtured by the stove from a young age, she connects with flavors and food in a way that most people only dream of. She also wins the heart of Pedro Muzquiz, a boy from their neighborhood and is heartbroken when she is told by her mother that they can never wed, due to the family tradition of the youngest daughter having to stay home and take care of her mother as she ages. Pedro, unable to bear the idea of being separate from Tita, marries her sister Rosura instead, turning the ranch into a hotbed of love, lust, jealousy and heartache. Tita’s haven is her kitchen and her artistry is in cooking, so the food she makes is imbued with the emotions she feels. Heartbroken, and her cake will make you sick. Lustful, and her meal causes one of her sisters to run away with a rebel. No – the story is not particularly realistic. The emotions are sweeping and devastating in their fury, the love is steadfast and unchanging…and I’m fairly certain it’s impossible to make hundreds of partygoers sick just because you were sad when you made the cake batter. The rich emotions give the novel a timeless, mythic feeling. Nonetheless, Esquivel uses these grand, almost operatic turns of phrase to tug at the reader’s heart. For don’t we all know that feeling? I had been meaning to reread this book for years (tellingly, unlike so many others, this one has never been donated or lent away). The setting and culture, particularly the food, are undeniably impactful on the story, but overall it’s a story about love, longing and the confounding ties and responsibilities that come with family: universal feelings, to be sure. A Better Bookshelf

I remember reading this book in high school and it feeling very very naughty. It was the first book I flew through in my 4 high school years.

Este libro nos cuenta la historia de Tita y Pedro, una pareja de jóvenes que se aman pero no pueden estar juntos debido a que, como marca la tradición, al ser Tita la menor de las hijas se verá obligada a quedarse soltera, cuidando de su madre hasta que ésta se muera. Pedro entonces decidirá casarse con Rosaura, la hermana de Tita, para poder estar cerca suyo. Receta para el desastre, literalmente, ya que esta historia utiliza la pasión que siente Tita por la cocina junto con el realismo mágico y el drama por doquier para transmitir esta historia atrapante y triste y divertida a partes iguales.

I expected more. This could have been such a great, great novel. It has all the potential necessary for a classic. However, so many things bothered me. From the get go, the narrative disappointed me: so simplistic, clipped. Prose has no rhythm. Being fair, maybe the translation was a problem here. Plot moved too fast, while character development went along at a snail’s pace. Major things happened to main characters before I had any idea of who they really were and how to feel about them. The novel continued on walking a thin line between extreme realism and fantasy. Instead of diving deep inside characters and narrating their feelings and reactions, the author resorted to actual rivers of tears and blood, passion that sizzled the skin and produced fires, disconcertments that caused fits of vomit, and fury that turned oblivious chickens into a whirlwind of assassin-style madness. I suppose with a better narrative this would all have worked out perfectly: I don't particularly hate the absurdity, I welcome it. But when you match such absurd happenings with simple, chopped storytelling – lacking in vocabulary and style – it turns out, in my opinion, somewhat silly.

I read this in 7th grade when I found it on my English teacher's shelf and I was shocked that she included such a provocative book in her classroom library! So of course I read the whole thing. Certain scenes and moments are particularly memorable, including the rose-petal quail and Gertrudis (view spoiler)[riding away on the horse (hide spoiler)]. Kind of a classic introduction to ~*~sex in literature~*~.

Beautiful prose, beautiful imagery .... truly unlike anything else I’ve ever read. I’m sure I’ll remember this book for a long time, but also don’t feel an urge to pick up similar works any time soon. This was a full on experience!

This was pretty fun and easy read. Sometimes I did found it a bit too ridiculous but overall it was entertaining and unique, especially with the whole recipe and food aspect.