Like Water for Chocolate

I am about halfway through the novel Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel, and I just started reading it only a few days ago. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to read a simple and flowing novel, yet one that still has a strong and passionate story within it.

Like Water for Chocolate is truly a love story. It is engaging, and it always leaves me wanting to read more (something I cannot say about too many novels I have read in school). Tita, the protagonist, is a young woman who longs for love in a society where being the oldest daughter does not allow her to marry. Her job for her entire life is to care to her mother's wishes and desires. Unlike her other siblings, she is not allowed to love. When Pedro, a man who Tita is very interested in, asks Mama Elena, Tita's mother, for her daughter's hand in marriage, Mama Elena will not hear anything of it. She simply suggests that he marry her other daughter, Rosaura. Tita's life becomes a living hell when they get married and have a son because Tita is still madly in love with Pedro, just as he longs for her companionship.

While reading this novel, I began to think what I would do if my mother denied me of love and marriage. I guess just like Tita, I would have to pursue something that interested me tremendously in order to stay sane and busy. I love to play tennis and swim, so if I were in the position Tita was in, I would definitely spend most of my time enjoying my hobbies. For Tita, this interest is cooking.Tita obeys her mother's rules and continues to be at her hands and knees whenever she needs assistance. The only thing that can save her from a life of misery from her mother and without Pedro is cooking. Besides her intense passion for Pedro, Tita has a love for cooking elaborate dishes. What keeps running through my head as I continue to read the book is how ridiculous an idea this is to deny someone of having a significant other and loving. It seems so unfair and irrationional to me.

Although I feel as if I have empathy for Tita, I do not believe anyone can feel her heart-throbbing pain unless it is experienced firsthand. Here is a story of a precious lost love. Maybe this story can help you understand what Tita has to endure.

I find this story to be very uniquely written, which is part of the reason I am really enjoying reading it. I like how Esquirel incorprorates recipes into the novel, since cooking is a very important aspect of the story. Here is a link of my favorite recipe.


"My grandmother had a very interesting theory; she said that each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves; just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen, for example, would come from the breath of a person you love; the candle could be any kind of food, music, caress, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches...that fire, in short, is its food." - Like Water for Chocolate

I incorporated this quote because it shows the comparison between love and food, which is one strong connection evident in this novel. It also is said by John, the family doctor, who ran away with Tita in order to save her from a life of hardship and pain. I think this quote is very poetic and describes the relationship between John and Tita, as well as Tita and cooking.

Want a quick preview of the novel? Click this link.