A Book Review on Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate
Submitted By: Sheila Rose Mauhay Darantinao
“... If that happens, the soul flees from the body and goes to wander among the deepest shades, trying in vain to find food to nourish itself, unaware that only the body it left behind, cold and defenseless, is capable of providing that food...”
Submitted By: Sheila Rose Mauhay Darantinao
“... If that happens, the soul flees from the body and goes to wander among the deepest shades, trying in vain to find food to nourish itself, unaware that only the body it left behind, cold and defenseless, is capable of providing that food...”
Like Water for Chocolate is Laura Esquivel’s first novel which is originally published in Spanish as Como agua para chocolate. The story revolves around the life of a young girl who longs her entire life for her lover but can never have him because of her domineering mother's traditional belief that the youngest daughter must not marry but take care of her mother until the day she dies.
The book is divided into 12 parts named after the months of the year. Each chapter begins with a recipe since the author believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure.
The story starts with a 15 year-old girl named Tita De La Garza, whose family lives in a ranch near the US-Mexico border. She lives with her iron-fisted mother, Mama Elena, and her elder sisters, Gertudis and Rosaura. Pedro, Tita’s admirer tries to ask her hand in marriage, but Mama Elena strongly forbids it because of the family tradition that the youngest daughter must never marry to take care of the mother until she dies. Pedro then decides to marry Rosaura instead.
Tita has a love of the kitchen and a sharp connection with food of any sort, a skill her sisters lack. With this, she made Pedro fall for her more, and not only Pedro but also the family doctor, Dr John Brown.
The conflict stars here wherein the main character is in the hard situation of deciding, Pedro, her first love or Dr Brown, the person who stood beside her after all.
The setting of the story was chosen very well. It is mainly set in the kitchen, which is the heart and soul of Mexican households. Laura Esquivel was successful in merging a very realistic story of love forbidden by tradition and a fantasy story of the power of her cooking. She also did it great showing the growth of Tita as a person. She transformed from submissive and obedient to rebellious and expressive. In the beginning, she could only express her emotions through her cooking. As the story goes on, she learns to verbalize her feelings and even stands up to her dictator mother. The recipes can also give the readers a chance to experience the emotions of the story first-hand. The story was well-paced and realistic. Esquivel uses different symbolisms which make the story more interesting to read.
The book is divided into 12 parts named after the months of the year. Each chapter begins with a recipe since the author believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure.
The story starts with a 15 year-old girl named Tita De La Garza, whose family lives in a ranch near the US-Mexico border. She lives with her iron-fisted mother, Mama Elena, and her elder sisters, Gertudis and Rosaura. Pedro, Tita’s admirer tries to ask her hand in marriage, but Mama Elena strongly forbids it because of the family tradition that the youngest daughter must never marry to take care of the mother until she dies. Pedro then decides to marry Rosaura instead.
Tita has a love of the kitchen and a sharp connection with food of any sort, a skill her sisters lack. With this, she made Pedro fall for her more, and not only Pedro but also the family doctor, Dr John Brown.
The conflict stars here wherein the main character is in the hard situation of deciding, Pedro, her first love or Dr Brown, the person who stood beside her after all.
The setting of the story was chosen very well. It is mainly set in the kitchen, which is the heart and soul of Mexican households. Laura Esquivel was successful in merging a very realistic story of love forbidden by tradition and a fantasy story of the power of her cooking. She also did it great showing the growth of Tita as a person. She transformed from submissive and obedient to rebellious and expressive. In the beginning, she could only express her emotions through her cooking. As the story goes on, she learns to verbalize her feelings and even stands up to her dictator mother. The recipes can also give the readers a chance to experience the emotions of the story first-hand. The story was well-paced and realistic. Esquivel uses different symbolisms which make the story more interesting to read.
The book only shows that true love can never be stopped even by family tradition, even if it is forbidden. Every page gives a new meaning of the story. Nothing seems boring when reading the book. Although some points are only for fantasies, only for those who believe in magic, the story looked realistic over-all. The story is good and unique and I recommend it to everyone.
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