Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
To the table or to bed
You must come when you are bid
The number-one bestseller in Mexico in 1990, Like Water for Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with bittersweet moments of magic and sensuality. Evocative of How to Make an American Quilt in structure, Tampopo in its celebration of food, and Heartburn in its irony and wit, it is a lively and funny tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico.
The narrator's great-aunt Tita is the youngest of three daughters born to Mama Elena, the tyrannical owner of De la Garza ranch. While still in her mother's womb, she wept so violently--as her mother chopped onions--that she caused Mama Elena to begin early labor, and Tita slipped out in the middle of the kitchen table, amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon became a way of life, and Tita grew up to be a master chef. Each chapter of the novel begins with one of Tita's recipes and her careful instructions for preparation.
In well-born Mexican families, tradition dictates that the youngest daughter not marry, but remain at home to care for her mother. Even though Tita has fallen in love, Mama Elena chooses not to make an exception, and instead, arranges for Tita's older sister to marry Tita's young man.
In order to punish Tita for her willfulness, Mama Elena forces her to bake the wedding cake. The bitter tears Tita weeps while stirring the batter provoke a remarkable reaction among the guests who eat the cake. It is then that it first becomes apparent that her culinary talents are unique.
Laura Esquivel's voice is direct, simple, and compelling. She has written a fresh and innovative novel, bringing her own inimitable strengths to a classic love story.
--jacket
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Previews available in: Spanish English Portuguese German
Subjects
virginity, magical realism, Self-growth, violence, passion, rebellion, food, Mexican cuisine, love at first sight, Fiction, familia, mexican cookery, mothers and daughters, sisters, Social life and customs, Cuentos de amor, Family, Family life, Man-woman relationships, Ficción, Drama, Mexican Cooking, Families, Love, Películas cinematográficas, Novela, Love stories, Literature, Cooking, Man-woman relationship, Cocina, Familias, Belletristische Darstellung, Frau, Kochen, Alltag, Manners and customs, Fiction, general, Fiction, romance, regional, Mexico, fiction, Large type books, Madre e hija, Hermanas, Cocina mexicana, Teen fiction, World literature, Fiction subjects, Peoples & cultures - fictionPeople
Josefita de la Garza, Pedro Muzquiz, Elena de la Garza, Gertrudis de la Garza, Rosaura de la Garza, John Brown, Nacha, Chencha, Roberto Muzquiz, Esperanza Muzquiz, Alex Brown, Nicolas, Juan Alejandrez, Jesus MartinezPlaces
Mexico, San Antonio, TexasShowing 10 featured editions. View all 82 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
01
Como Agua Para Chocolate/Like Water for Chocolate
October 1999, Rebound by Sagebrush
Library Binding
in Spanish
0785731237 9780785731238
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
02
Like Water for Chocolate
1995-11, Anchor Books, Doubleday
Paperback
in English
- 1st Anchor Books trade paperback edition (1)
038542017X 9780385420174
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
03 |
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
04
Like Water for Chocolate
1995-11, Anchor Books / Doubleday
Trade Paperback
in English
- First Anchor Books Trade Paperback Edition (7)
038542017X 9780385420174
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
05
BittersüÃÂe (BittersuBe) Schokolade
December 1, 1994, Suhrkamp
Mass Market Paperback
in German
3518388916 9783518388914
|
cccc
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
06
Like Water for Chocolate
1992-10, Doubleday
Hardcover
in English
- Movie Tie-In Edition; printing (18)
0385420161 9780385420167
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
07
Like Water for Chocolate
1992-10, Doubleday
Hardcover
in English
- Movie Tie-In Edition; printing (11)
0385420161 9780385420167
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
08
Like Water for Chocolate
1992-10, Doubleday
Hardcover
in English
- printing (6); Movie tie-in
0385420161 9780385420167
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
09
Like Water for Chocolate
1992-10, Doubleday
Hardcover
in English
- printing (38)
0385420161 9780385420167
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
10
Like Water for Chocolate
1992-10, Doubleday
Hardcover
in English
- printing (36)
0385420161 9780385420167
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Work Description
Like Water for Chocolate (Spanish: Como agua para chocolate) is a novel by Mexican novelist and screenwriter Laura Esquivel.
The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita, who longs for her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother's upholding of the family tradition: the youngest daughter cannot marry, but instead must take care of her mother until she dies. Tita is only able to express herself when she cooks.
Esquivel employs magical realism to combine the supernatural with the ordinary throughout the novel.
The novel won the American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Adult Trade in 1994.
Excerpts
First paragraph
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created October 8, 2021
- 6 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
July 21, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
December 19, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
November 10, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
October 8, 2021 | Edited by Lisa | Added edition. |
October 8, 2021 | Created by Lisa | Added new book. |