Como agua para chocolate (Spanish Edition)

Este libro entretiene pero la historia es muy exagerada y hasta en ocasiones absurda. Lo mas que me decepciono fue el final. Fue original, pero absurdo. Lo bueno de este libro son las recetas tradicionales mexicanas.

Great condition. the store has honestly never failed me with books. They are always in great condition unless otherwise noted. As a college student - I love notes in books, so I actually look for books that have been used versus buying new. It is as if I get to read the thought transformation of another student/reader! I love it. This book had no notes in it and was in great condition upon arrival. No bent corners and the pages were all in tact. The binding was secure as well.

There are always a couple things I check right away when I receive a book: binding, pagination, edition/copyright, and overall condition. I have never been disappointed with a book I've bought of the store.

I plan to buy every book I can off of the store for the rest of my undergraduate career and all throughout law school.

The book Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel was a great easy read. This book is a Romance. There are many relationships in this book which set the plot for the book. In this book the main character is Tita De La Garza. She is faced with many obstacles in her life that include family and her love life. After her mother dies she is left to the duty of cooking and feeding everybody. However ,before Mama Elena died she had denied the marriage to her daughter, Tita, to Pedro. So in order for Tita and Pedro to be close to each other for the rest of their lives Pedro decides to marry Titas sister, Rosaura. After they marry they have two kids. However, after Mama Elena died Pedro and Tita were able to be together despite the disappointment their family may have they will be forever be happy. However, the first day Tita and Pedro have the house to themselves and don’t have to be sneaking around, Pedro dies while they are in bed together.
Each chapter starts out with a recipe for a meal. Each of the recipes gives the audience insights on the De La Garza family. The meal preparations show the lifestyle the family lived in and the dedication Mama Elena (who is the head of the household) and Tita (who is Mama Elenas daughter) had to cooking. For example, one of the recipes calls for 6 quail. Tita then decides to catch six quail from outside. This shows that the family lives on a ranch and they might not live in a highly developed country.
This book had a lot of strengths but along with the strengths it also had some weaknesses. Some of the strengths in this book is the repetition at the beginning of each of the chapters. The recipes not only just tell the audience some interesting food but they show the audience the insights of the characters feelings and set the mood for the rest of the chapter. Another strength in this book is in the beginning the author really is able to paint a picture in our minds of what the characters look like and where they live such as the use of diction. When the author uses the words “prying eyes” it suggests word travels quickly in this house (47). One weakness of this book is that even though it is an easy read this book is not recommended to everyone. There are some scenes in the book that are adult content and are not advised for younger audiences. This is a great quick read if you are interested in that.

“Como agua para chocolate” esta escrito por Laura Esquivel
“Como agua para chocolate” este libro te hara desear leer todo el libro complete desear que haya una segunda parte. Yo creo que ustedes les encantara la novela de Esquivel sobre la cocina.
Laura Esquivel nacio en septiembre 30, 1950 en la ciudad de Mexico. Ella empezo a escribir Cuando ella estaba trabajando como maestro en un kinder. Esquivel escribio su primer libro “como agua para chocolate” en 1970s y 1980s.
Al principio del libro empieza con la bisabuela de Tita y Nacha la cocinera y como estaban hacienda un pastel, y como la bisabuela no paraba de llorar y que con su llanto era tan fuerte que la cocinera se quedo medio sorda. Un dia los sollozos eran tan fuertes que provocaron que el parto de la mama de Tita se adelantara.
Tita nacio en la mesa de la cocina, entre los olores de una sopa de fideos que se estaba cocinando, los del tomillo y mas condimentos que estaban en la cocina. Nacha la cocinera cuenta que tita fue literalmente empujada a este mundo por un torrente impresionante de lagrimas que desbordaron sobre la mesa y el piso de la cocina. Tita era la persona que cocinaba para su familia, ella expresaba sus sentimientos cuando ella estaba cocinando y cuando su familia la comia la comida de Tita ellos tambien se ponian sensibles como ella.
A mi realmente me encanto/ disfrute leer este libro, es muy divertido y interesante, tambien pense que se trataba de algo diferente. Es una historia sobre amor, la decepcion, la familia, las tradiciones y sobretodo la cocina. Me enamore de algunos personajes y me dio mucho gusto leer sobre recetas antiguas y entender el proceso de la creacion de differentes alimentos que no conocia hasta que lei el libro.
Finalmente este es un libro con drama, amor y tragedia con tita y su familia….. y me da gusto que tambien hicieron una pelicula sobre “como agua para chocolate” Yo les recomiendo que vean y lean este libro. Yo a este libro le doy cinco Estrella por que es un libro muy interesante sobre los suenos y deseos de las personas. Tambien el libro es bueno para los estudiantes que quieren estudiar cocina.

I found this story so fascinating that I could hardly wait to get home after work every day so I could read more of it. It has an unusual structure. The book is divided into 12 chapters, each of which starts with a traditional Mexian recipe. The memories evoked by the odor or taste of an ingredient lead the narrator to the next stage of the story. Likewise, events in the story lead to asides where the narrator discusses home remedies, superstitions, other recipes, etc. The plot contains magical elements. Basically, the story is realistic, but every once in a while something impossible happens. I realize that this style is not to everyone's taste, so I'm warning you here. On the practical side: I took two years of Spanish at university, and I was able to read, and enjoy, this book in Spanish. In fact, it is the first Spanish book I have ever read. I recommend it to other students of Spanish looking for a good book on which to try out their reading skills.

Este libro tiene doce capítulos, cada capítulo está titulado de acuerdo a una receta o remedio casero especifico. Las doce recetas y remedios están organizadas en orden cronológico por cada mes del año, en los cuales se ilustra la historia de Tita, la protagonista de la historia. Cada capítulo comienza con una receta o remedio que está conectado a un evento en particular. En esta ficción, Esquivel usa la historia de Tita para dar a conocer como los efectos de una tradición familiar afectan la vida de mujeres como Tita.
La historia se lleva a cabo durante la revolución mexicana. Empieza cuando Elena, la madre de Tita, una viuda mexicana de clase media alta y quien está a cargo de la hacienda, asume el papel patriarcal de su esposo. Elena está determinada a dirigir la hacienda familiar para proteger a su familia de los soldados revolucionarios y bandidos. Los esfuerzos de Elena causan que se vuelva cruel y despiadada cuando se trata de imponer la tradición familiar, especialmente la tradición que dice que la hija menor tiene que permanecer soltera para que tenga que cuidar de la madre hasta que esta muera. Tita, siendo la menor de la familia está condenada a una vida de soltería. Conforme Tita crece, la tradición familiar le causa mucho sufrimiento, pero ella encuentra refugio en la cocina, donde experimenta con comidas y recetas.
El sufrimiento de Tita se intensifica cuando conoce a Pedro, quien se convierte en el amor de su vida. La tradición familiar le impide a Tita que se case con Pedro. Al contrario, Elena para hacer a Tita obediente a la tradición familiar, convence a Pedro que se case con Rosaura, la hija mayor; y como castigo, Elena ordena a Tita que haga el pastel de bodas. Pedro, para estar cerca de Tita, acepta casarse con Rosaura. Esto incrementa el sufrimiento de Tita. Ella aprende a expresar sus sentimientos a través de los platos que prepara. Estos platos afectan a los miembros de la familia que los comen causándoles que experimenten los mismos sentimientos y deseos que Tita.
Esta novela es fácil de leer y mantiene la atención del lector esperando con ansias que es lo que va a pasar luego. Hay pasajes que hacen experimentar al lector sentimientos de alegría, placer, frustración e indignación. Las recetas de comidas y remedios ilustradas en la novela producen un sentimiento de calor de hogar, felicidad y placer. Aún cuando la imposición de la tradición familiar hecha a Tita pueda causar indignación.

¿Cuatro coma seis? ¿Cómo? ¿Por qué? Es una novela aburridísima, y no me gustó nada de nada. No entiendo cómo puede decir tanta gente que Esquivel escribe bien--no se ve aquí. Cero estrellas, por favor.

Imaginatively told, romantic and sensual - this is a Latin-style fairy tale for adults only. Tita, our heroine, has a life of work & misery, caused by her mother who is cruel beyond reason to her and has brainwashed her since birth into believing that the youngest daughter must remain a spinster and take care of her mother for ever. Fortunately Tita is blessed with magical cooking skills that allow her to attract lovers and cast many types of spells over the people that consume her dishes, amazing events occur all around her. Tita is not the only talented member of the family either, her sisters are notable personalities as well.
I recommend this as a light & funny escape from reality.

besides the excellent recipes wholly printed in the book version, here is my review of the movie, which is not as detailed nor able to be prolonged but is true to the book (unlike other movie versions of books in which some stuff is changed):
after you watch this movie, you will either want to eat, cook (preferably one of the mentioned recipes), make love or all three! i saw the version dubbed in spanish, and also read 3 selected chapters from the book, for spanish class. it's a work of art and genius, and it must be watched all the way through without stopping. the characters are excellently portrayed, and it combines love, feminism, drama, sensuality, lust, hope, passion, and humour, topped with cultural tradition and folklore. i don't know which one is better, the book or the movie. all of the 5 senses are provoked on a deep and perhaps even primal level, especially taste and smell, feverishly yearning for a sum greater than their overall parts (gestalt) - which brings up the sixth sense, intuition.

Like Water For Chocolate
By Laura Esquivel
Doubleday Anchor Books, Random House,1995
What if the wicked stepmother gave Prince Charming to one of the ugly sisters? What if Cinderella was not the darling of the hearth but, through her command of the kitchen, exacted her revenge on everyone in the household? What if the ensuing drama assumed hallucinatory, Alice in Wonderlandish proportions? If anything about Cinderella lights your fire, you have to read Laura Esquivel's debut novel, Like Water for Chocolate.
Like Water for Chocolate is a love story folded into the pages of a cookbook. "Quail in Rose Sauce" and similarly exotic recipes introduce each chapter of this simple domestic tale about a family's celebration of weddings, christenings, and wakes.
Into the simmering cauldron of Mexican revolution at the turn of the century, Laura Esquivel ladles the key ingredients: Tita, her two sisters, and their domineering mother. When family tradition condemns Tita to remain single, she empties her despair into her love for cooking. A masterful storyteller, Equivel turns up the heat until Tita's passion reaches boiling point, like water for chocolate. Tita's true love, Pedro, and other male characters wait on the periphery, these fantastic, female characters are the feast itself in an earthy rendition of Cinderella that will leave you greedy for more.
If you enjoyed Babette's Feast you will devour Like Water for Chocolate like a starving animal. The power of food can mould any occasion but the magical dishes at Tita's banquets catapult the guests into everything from food poisoning to mass orgies. A soap opera of family secrets and fiancé-stealing siblings is whisked in along with bizarre, mythological elements in a mouth-watering, tall tale that conjures up Chagall-like images: squabbling chickens that bore a hole into the earth, tears that pour down the stairs, a woman's lust that ignites a building.
All is carefully baked into screenwriter Esquivel's sumptuous novel and liberally garnished with home hints for breast-feeding, curing flatulence and bad breath, and making matches.
With Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel begins a tradition of playfully blending genres to create sensual, humorous concoctions that are part family history and part superstition, a tradition she continues with Between Two Fires.
Like Water for Chocolate is, above all, a fairytale about star-crossed lovers whose sizzling passion is thwarted from beginning to end. Though Esquivel refuses throughout to comfort the reader with the tempting aroma of a happy ending, the twists and turns of the final chapter are as satisfying as any the romance reader will ever read.
Bon Apetit!

Like Water for Chocolate was an amazing story of love and triumph. A teenage girl lives a life full of all kinds of powerful experiences which she comes about because all of her different emotions. The girl, Tita, learns that she is forced to live an unmarried life in order to take care of her mother. When her mother realizes that Tita shows affection towards Pedro, Tita's one true love, the mother marries him off to Tita's older sister. This creates a very difficult situation for the rest of Tita's life.
Tita is also the head cook of the household. Through her cooking, which is vibrant and glowing with emotion, she spills her feelings of longing, frustration, rebellion, and love. Good, bad, loving, or sad Tita's feelings are so powerful that it affected everyone who smelled, touched, and tasted her wonderful food.
This makes for an interesting and fascinating story which is written in an incredibly unique, simple style. Like Water for Chocolate made me respect the different types of love in one's life. Even with all of the difficult events in her life, Tita found her true love. I admired her because she always had and showed love for other people which sometimes kept her from making decisions that were in her best interest. I recommend this book because it's a different type of love story which anyone can relate to.

Like Water for Chocolate, written by Laura Esquivel, is evidence that love has many obstacles. The story takes place in a ranch located in Mexico where a house full of women live. Mama Elena and her three daughters, Rosaura, the oldest, Gertrudis, and Tita, the youngest, are the women of that ranch. The book revolves around Tita and her true love Pedro. Tita, being the youngest, has to take care of her mother until the day her mother died because it was a family tradition. Therefore, Mama Elena forbids Pedro from taking Tita's hand in marriage but offered him to take Rosaura's hand instead. So Pedro marries Rosaura so he can be close to Tita. Tita not knowing his intention for marrying his sister, became very upset and sad but she had to hide her true feelings so Mama Elena wouldn't be angry with her. This was a struggle for both Tita and Pedro because they really loved each other. As days went by, Mama Elena kept a close eye on Tita and Pedro. Then one day, she told Pedro that he, Rosaura, and their baby had to move to Texas because she had a feeling that Tita and Pedro were having a secret affair. Tita felt like her life was going to end because she loved Pedro so and she was attached to Roberto. She also couldn't take losing Pedro for the second time. Years past and Tita felt something different for someone different. She and John, the doctor, became close and were soon engaged. Pedro became angry at the fact that Tita was going to marry someone that wasn't him and began to have tantrums. Tita didn't like what Pedro was doing but his actions gave her a sudden dose of reality. She realized that she had to choose who she wanted to be with and that decision was easy because of the love she felt when he was around. So with that feeling inside of her, she chooses Pedro, her true love and they become one. This book is full of tears and obstacles that are overcome by Tita and Pedro's love for one another.

A fantastic book: funny, very well written. I had a lot of trouble finding it when it first came out. At that time I was living in Tokyo but this book disappeared at bookshops as fast as ''pan caliente'' (hot bread). Lots of fun!

Like Water For Chocolate is a wonderful and enchanting novel overflowing with intense passion and desire. It is a beautifully written Mexican story about a girl named Tita who is denied her first true love. It tells of the suffering, struggle, and power of women living in a deeply-rooted heritage full of war and countless traditions. Uniquely written, the novel is a story told in twelve monthly installments interwoven with recipes that enable Tita's freedom and individuality to shine through her deprived childhood. Her talent and love for cooking are easily understood as she demonstrates the power of food on the soul. This novel focuses on Tita's quest for love and happiness, which, in return, bring out the reader's most intimate emotions. It is a fun book persuading the reader that perhaps magic and reality are one in the same. It is a romantic fairy-tale as well as one of the best page-turners I have ever read.

A fantastic book: funny, very well written. I had a lot of trouble finding it when it first came out. At that time I was living in Tokyo but this book disappeared at bookshops as fast as ''pan caliente'' (hot bread). Lots of fun!

Like Water For Chocolate is a wonderful and enchanting novel overflowing with intense passion and desire. It is a beautifully written Mexican story about a girl named Tita who is denied her first true love. It tells of the suffering, struggle, and power of women living in a deeply-rooted heritage full of war and countless traditions. Uniquely written, the novel is a story told in twelve monthly installments interwoven with recipes that enable Tita's freedom and individuality to shine through her deprived childhood. Her talent and love for cooking are easily understood as she demonstrates the power of food on the soul. This novel focuses on Tita's quest for love and happiness, which, in return, bring out the reader's most intimate emotions. It is a fun book persuading the reader that perhaps magic and reality are one in the same. It is a romantic fairy-tale as well as one of the best page-turners I have ever read.

Laura Esquivel did her good launching her first successful master piece, Como Agua Para Chocolate. This novel let us see by Tita (main character) her repressive hard-to-die mother, a sister who brokes all cultural laws and another who becomes her adversary for the love of Pedro (main character). With the warm atmosphere of a kitchen, hard-to-achieve love, passion, more recipes and characters external and internal fights this novel is a must to have. Language is very simple but don't low the quality of the context. For spanish learners is ideal not just for spanish literature but get familiar with our culture.

No conocia la obra Laura Esquivel antes y compre esta novela por ser la mas recomendada en seccion novedad. Pues es entretenida, su estilo y el plot me hace recordar de la obra de Isabel Allende. Claro, muchas palabras no entienden (los ingredientes de las recetas) y a mi me atrae como Equivel manipula la situacion en cada capitulo con el progreso de de la historia con cada receta.
Es una novela que romienda a los que les gusta historia de amor de estilo no convencional, relacionada con las recetas tradicionales mexicanas y recomiendos caseros (e.g. como hacer cerillo).

A delightful, fun, easy to read novel that doesn't hesitate to disregard the natural laws of reality in order to improve the effect of a scene, like having its protagonist cry so much during her birth that the floor had to be swept for it was literally flooded with tears, to characters who behave more drastically and spontaneously than in reality in order to move the plot along, and yet, despite this, the characters, the plot, and the literal magic of Tita's cooking, somehow ring true to life on a more funadamental level, so that once you start, you won't be able to put it down. A great book.

Esta obra es preciosa... Tiene una historia tan tierna, y romantica a la vez, que te cautiva desde el primer momento que empiezas a leerlo. Es facil de leer, interesante, y entretenido. Se lo recomiendo a todo aquel que quiera disfrutar de una historia de amor, llena de sorpresas y pasion...

Uno de mis libros favoritos. Me encantan los personajes, el uso de exageraciones metafóricas --como cuando Tita nace llorando y hay sal para muchos años--. Es uno de los libros que leí en menos de 24 horas porque no pude soltarlo. Lo recomiendo sinceramente.

Es una historia divertida, con momentos reales, con momentos 'mágicos', y algunos trágicos. Muestra al México revolucionario desde 'otro' punto de vista. Tiene un dejo de inocencia aunque la historia no es inocente.

Definitivamente, esta obra por Laura Esquivel es facinante. La autora por medio de descripciones vivas nos presenta la realidad del mundo hispanoamericano. La sensualidad, sexualidad, pasion, creencias, opresiones que forman parte de la cultura a hispanoamericana se derrama por medio de las situaciones y personajes de la novela. El lenguaje aunque es simple no deja de ser preciso y crea un ambiente de magia en el cual nos sumergimos mientras leemos y se nos hace casi imposible no impregnarnos de la pasión que emiten los olores de la cocina de Tita, el personaje principal.

Como agua para Chocolate captura la cultura latinoamericana con su sabor a miel y fuego, con la dulzura de la noche y la agresividad de sus familias. La historia es excelente, pero en cierta manera antigua en la manera en que el romanticismo captura los personajes. Es una buena introduccion a los andares de la literatura latinoamericana pero no una obra maestra en este genero.

Es un libro maravilloso:
Como agua para chocolate es una novela que trae con sigo varias recetas y remedios caseros que llaman la atencion desde el principio hasta el final de cada una.
La historia que Laura Esquivel narra es tan cautivadora que les recomiendo este libro ya que trae todo tipo de cosas que se relacionan entre si, como la comida , el amor , los conflictos.
Bueno como agua para chocolate fue escrita por Laura Esquivel esta autora es tan reconocida que cautivan a todo lector.

The book "Like Water for Chocolate" is a great book. The book deals with a teen-age girl who wants to marry but can't because her family tradition won't allow her to. The tradition is that she is unable to marry because she is the youngest and will need to take care of her mother.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book gets kind of confusing but overall it is a good book that deals with love and desire.

I enjoyed reading "Like Water For Chocolate". The author was Talking About old family traditions,love, false morality and betrayal. Also what made it more interesting was the recipies
that were included in every chapter. I have not tried the recipies yet, but it sounds very tempting and easy to make.
Maybe I'll try them on my family.
Laura Rendon

The book, Like Water for Chocolate was a crafty written book mixing magic with food, sex with violence, and love on horse back, all that fun engaging stuff middle aged women with no sex life like to read. Who is perceisly who I'd recommend this book to. Like Water for Chocolate was an enjoyable read if you like romance in a mystical sense. I gave the book an overall 3 stars.

This book is a classic in Literature in Spanish, but please don't buy this edition from Anchor Books. It has a lot of typos and spelling mistakes that a good editor would never allow.

It was a very disappointing buy... but a great story regardless. That is why it gets 2 stars and not one.