Laura Esquivel

A culinary romance set in Mexico. Condemned by tradition to look after her tyrannical mother and remain a spinster, Tita finds her destiny in the kitchens of the family ranch. Her recipes for Mexican dishes are woven into the story of her doomed romance with Pedro, her brother-in-law.

Like Water for Chocolate

novela de entregas mensuales con recetas, amores y remedios caseros

Como agua para chocolate

Lo único coherente que digo Pedro Muzquiz en toda la novela…

brunella

“El amor no se piensa: se siente o no se siente.”

Dolce Come IL Cioccolato

Jules

Si por una emoción muy fuerte se llegan a encender todos los cerillos que llevamos en nues un solo golpe, se produce un resplandor ta nina más allá de lo que podemos ver norma ces ante núestros ojos aparece un túnel esplendoroso y que muestra el camino que olvidamos al momento de nacer y que nos llama a reencontrar nuestro perdido origen divino. El alma desea reintegrarse al lugar de donde proviene; dejando al cuerpo inerte»

Karin Volarić

Morena🌊❤️

Karla M. Salazar G.

Loved this ! Magical realism in recipes ! Yum yum ! Would love to read this en español one day 

maddy rowley

Me encantò, por triste que me hizò poner

Annabella

novela de entregas mensuales con recetas, amores, y remedios caseros

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

"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.

Okay well, let's start with positive things. The magical realism incredible, it was fun and it gave the story an element of uniqueness, I loved that scene at the wedding where everyone gets sick bc of the tears in the cake unu. Also John, Nacha, Chencha and Gertrudis were fantastic characters. And ofc the most important aspect, the recipes, I loved how each dish told you what was going to happen in a way and also i got to compare them with my own nan recipes, 

But tbh Im so mad rn!!! like i was hoping that it turn to be different, I really wanted Tita to wake up from that stupid love dream and realize that she deserved better *cough* John *cough *  and not only in a romantic way but also in a personal way. I understand that misogyny  and gender violence is one of the biggest problems in Mexico and during the revolution it was way worst but omg it was really disappointing to see that vicious circle continued, with Rosaura and with Tita choosing someone as awful as Pedro and just focusing on that man instead of something else.

also i really wanted to understand why everything happened the way it happened but ugh also FOR ME this got more uncomfortable sexual content than some ao3 fics 😭😭😭

Daizo 

Okay well, let's start with positive things. The magical realism incredible, it was fun and it gave the story an element of uniqueness, I loved that scene at the wedding where everyone gets sick bc of the tears in the cake unu. Also John, Nacha, Chencha and Gertrudis were fantastic characters. And ofc the most important aspect, the recipes, I loved how each dish told you what was going to happen in a way and also i got to compare them with my own nan recipes, 

But tbh Im so mad rn!!! like i was hoping that it turn to be different, I really wanted Tita to wake up from that stupid love dream and realize that she deserved better *cough* John *cough *  and not only in a romantic way but also in a personal way. I understand that misogyny  and gender violence is one of the biggest problems in Mexico and during the revolution it was way worst but omg it was really disappointing to see that vicious circle continued, with Rosaura and with Tita choosing someone as awful as Pedro and just focusing on that man instead of something else.

also i really wanted to understand why everything happened the way it happened but ugh also FOR ME this got more uncomfortable sexual content than some ao3 fics 😭😭😭



Libertad Aguilar

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

Silvia Sants

Una entretenidilla y heteropatriarcal paja mental.

Isabella

Katherine Yang

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.

A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies'. The international bestseller.The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes. A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her. For the next twenty-two years Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.

Ana Hein

Haylie

Como Água Para Chocolate

Joana

Kal Ma Lilshukulata Como Agua Para Chocolate  Like Water for Chocolate  Arabic

Noha Abdelaziz

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

Hussein Mahran

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

Abdelrahman_ahmed

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

Mohamed gamal

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

Trever

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.

Ellie Younger

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.

a novel in monthly installments, with recipes, romances, and home remedies

Athena Eloy

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

Johanna Kenrick

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

Erin Noel

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.

Emir Andrés Ibañez

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.

Mayra Melo

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.

Kate

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~*~.

Like Water for Chocolate

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