A #1 bestseller in Mexico in 1990, this charming, imaginative, and just plain fun novel of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico employs a winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. Abridged. 5 CDs.
Read More
A #1 bestseller in Mexico in 1990, this charming, imaginative, and just plain fun novel of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico employs a winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. Abridged. 5 CDs.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. audioCD. Case Very Good. Slipcase Very Good. 4 disc set. Abridged edition. Quality guaranteed! In original artwork/packaging unless otherwise noted.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
"Like Water for Chocolate" is a Latin American novel written by noted author of Latin-American literature and screenwriter Laura Esquivel. This book takes place along the Texas/Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution. The main character, Tita, grows up in a house with her mother and two other sisters, Gertrudis and Rosaura, and does what she loves most of all, cooking. However this family has far from the typical family drama. This book is crack full of complicated romances and sick family traditions. The author of this novel, Laura Esquivel, did an amazing job at writing this novel. The main strengths that make this book as good as it is the symbolism and meaning used throughout the book.
One great strength of this book is the way that Esquivel uses symbolism throughout the novel. One of these symbols is the matches the author uses to show passion between Tita and Pedro. This "spark" is mentioned many times throughout the novel and it gets bigger until the two loves are consumed in the fire of it. Another amazing symbol in the book is the character Gertrudis. She is the perfect symbol for women empowerment. Instead of becoming a housewife like her families, as well as her society's, tradition at the time. She leaves in lust with a general of the revolutionary war. Not only does she prove that women don't have to wait around for a man to come ask for her hand, but she "became a general in the revolutionary army.... {which} had been earned by sheer hard work, she fought like mad on the field of battle" (178-179) Gertrudis shows that if someone is not happy where they are, then go out and find their passion, find their own adventure.
Esquivel creates a brilliant, meaningful title that perfectly fits this novel. This title has a deeper meaning other than the kitchen. As learned through Tita's cooking, hot chocolate is made using water and it is added as just as the water starts to boil. There are many occasions in this book that Tita is literally "on the verge of boiling over"(151). However, in a similar way to Gertrudis, Tita is a very strong woman. She is the only one to openly challenge her mother, yet does not resort to violence. She uses this strength to push through all of the problems that make her "like water for chocolate."
Although there are many great aspects to this book, there is also a fault in the novel. Esquivel does make the book confusing to the readers in the aspect of time. The twelve chapters in "Like Water for Chocolate" are each titled with a month making the novel seem as though the events taking place consist of one year, however as the novel is read, it is clear that time has gone by many years. Maybe Esquivel did this to confuse its readers; it certainly threw me off.
Overall, "Like Water for Chocolate" is an amazing book filled with heartfelt events that will make the reader cling to the novel. Despite its one fault, the content of "Like Water for Chocolate" is the reason why I give the book 4 and a half stars. I recommend this novel for 16 year olds and up.
Andrea S
Nov 4, 2010
Very Fast Shipping
Book in good condition and was a great price! The book is an old favorite so I was looking to relace my old tattered version. I love the flow of the book. The receipes help break of the text but also help make connections with the reader. Not to mention that they are pretty tasty:)
cmpty
Aug 14, 2008
Steamy!
Good examples of using food to describe a forbidden relationship.
BookPirate
Nov 15, 2007
Lick the Spoon, Buckos, It's That Good
This was a great book, delicious and sumptuous to the last page. A woman, who is pressed into submission by her dictator-like mother, is forbidden to marry the man she loves. He in turn marries her older sister to be closer to her. The kitchen is our heroine?s workshop. Whatever she is feeling gets swept up into the meal she is making, affecting those who eat it. The lust she feels claims her younger sister, the sorrow inside her crushes her family to tears. Each chapter walks you through the recipes that are created during the story. This was a grand book with a magical realism for spice.
