Promotional Information

'A Novel in Monthly Instalments with Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies'.The international bestseller.

About the Author

Laura Esquivel is one of Mexico's most celebrated writers. She now divides her time between Mexico City and New York. Originally a screenwriter, she wrote the script for the award-winning film of her first book, Like Water for Chocolate. Her other novels are Swift as Desire, The Law of Love and Malinche.

Reviews

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time

Charming, instructive, savoury
*The Times*

It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist
*Literary Review*

If originality, a compelling tale and an adventure in the kitchen are what you crave, Like Water For Chocolate serves up the full helping
*San Francisco Chronicle*

A wondrous, romantic tale, fuelled by mystery and superstitition as well as by the recipes that introduce each chapter
*Los Angeles Times*

Each chapter of screenwriter Esquivel's utterly charming interpretation of life in turn-of-the-century Mexico begins with a recipe--not surprisingly, since so much of the action of this exquisite first novel (a bestseller in Mexico) centers around the kitchen, the heart and soul of a traditional Mexican family. The youngest daughter of a well-born rancher, Tita has always known her destiny: to remain single and care for her aging mother. When she falls in love, her mother quickly scotches the liaison and tyrannically dictates that Tita's sister Rosaura must marry the luckless suitor, Pedro, in her place. But Tita has one weapon left--her cooking. Esquivel mischievously appropriates the techniques of magical realism to make Tita's contact with food sensual, instinctual and often explosive. Forced to make the cake for her sister's wedding, Tita pours her emotions into the task; each guest who samples a piece bursts into tears. Esquivel does a splendid job of describing the frustration, love and hope expressed through the most domestic and feminine of arts, family cooking, suggesting by implication the limited options available to Mexican women of this period. Tita's unrequited love for Pedro survives the Mexican Revolution the births of Rosaura and Pedro's children, even a proposal of marriage from an eligible doctor. In a poignant conclusion, Tita manages to break the bonds of tradition, if not for herself, then for future generations. (Oct.)

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time
Charming, instructive, savoury * The Times *
It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist * Literary Review *
If originality, a compelling tale and an adventure in the kitchen are what you crave, Like Water For Chocolate serves up the full helping * San Francisco Chronicle *
A wondrous, romantic tale, fuelled by mystery and superstitition as well as by the recipes that introduce each chapter * Los Angeles Times *