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Not really sure how to rate this book because it's very much out of my usual (picked it up for a book club). I was entertained by the food descriptions and their magical effects on people, and it was kind of just a wild ride. It was written in the 80s so there are several things that I find questionable now, like was their first time together really consensual and there were definitely a few slut shaming and fat shaming comments and if I read it correctly John took in a girl probably less than half his age and fell in love/proposed while she was a minor . I can't say I was super happy with the ending either but I did have a good time reading like 75-80% of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ENG:
It felt too fragmented, mainly the last third. The family was exhausting, and I know it's a faithful representation of how families were back then, but damn.
I liked Tita's recipes and how her emotions affected the dishes, but she had barely any developmentcuz everything she learned with John was erased as soon as she went back to the ranch. Pedro is annoying and acts like a child who didn't get his candy, and I hate that they both just made a fool of Rosenda. John was cool and deserved better, and Gertrudis was the most interesting of the sisters with her participating in the revolution.
The writing was fine, the parts of magic realism felt too conventional in the sense that I forgot about it because it only showed up after something important to support Tita's actions instead of being always around.
Overall, I'll either forget it instantly, or remember it with anger.
---
SPA:
Se sintió demasiado fragmentado, sobre todo el último tercio. La familia era agotadora, y sé que es una representación fiel de cómo eran las familias de entonces, pero ufff.
Me gustaron las recetas de Tita y cómo sus emociones afectaban los platillos, pero apenas tuvo desarrolloporque todo lo que aprendió con John se borró en cuanto regresó al rancho. Pedro es molesto y se comporta como un niño al que no le dan caramelos, y odio que ambos se re burlaron de Rosenda. John me gustó y se merecía algo mejor , y Gertrudis era la más interesante de las hermanas, con su participación en la revolución y eso.
Esta bien escrito, las partes de realismo mágico se sintieron demasiado oportunas, en el sentido de que olvidé que era realismo mágico porque solo aparecía la "magia" después de algo importante para apoyar las acciones de Tita, en lugar de estar siempre presente.
En resumen, o lo olvido inmediatamente o lo recuerdo con rabia.
It felt too fragmented, mainly the last third. The family was exhausting, and I know it's a faithful representation of how families were back then, but damn.
I liked Tita's recipes and how her emotions affected the dishes, but she had barely any development
The writing was fine, the parts of magic realism felt too conventional in the sense that I forgot about it because it only showed up after something important to support Tita's actions instead of being always around.
Overall, I'll either forget it instantly, or remember it with anger.
---
SPA:
Se sintió demasiado fragmentado, sobre todo el último tercio. La familia era agotadora, y sé que es una representación fiel de cómo eran las familias de entonces, pero ufff.
Me gustaron las recetas de Tita y cómo sus emociones afectaban los platillos, pero apenas tuvo desarrollo
Esta bien escrito, las partes de realismo mágico se sintieron demasiado oportunas, en el sentido de que olvidé que era realismo mágico porque solo aparecía la "magia" después de algo importante para apoyar las acciones de Tita, en lugar de estar siempre presente.
En resumen, o lo olvido inmediatamente o lo recuerdo con rabia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Pregnancy
Minor: War
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, War
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, War
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
I have such conflicted feelings about this novel. When I first read it a little over 30 years ago. I was young. This was my Mexican Wuthering Heights - I thought this was a tragic love story and that Tita and Pedro were meant to be together. Now I know better. Pedro was a coward. Mama Elena was an abusive mother. Tita had so much childhood trauma that she had unregulated emotions and could not see that John was a much better choice of a spouse, because she was convinced that passion = love. Also problematic was the portrayal of the barely mentioned Black characters. When Gertrudis (who we find out is the daughter of Mama Elena and a mulatto man, hence is 1/4 Black) runs off with the revolutionaries she joins a brothel. To paraphrase Gertrudis, she had to go through a ton of men to get rid of all the pent up sexual energy. Um, racist stereotype much? Then much later in the novel, we meet her dark-skinned son for just a hot minute, who remains unnamed. Did he not deserved to be named something other than Gertrudis' "mulatto" son? Racism/colorism has always been alive and well in Latino culture, but this felt more like the author's lack of awareness of her own cultural bias than a reflection of the story/characters.
What I did love - the recipes, the love between Nacha and Tita, the magical realism, the blurred lines between the dead and the living, and just seeing Tita finally stand up to her mom, even if was just the ghost of Mama Elena.
I have such conflicted feelings about this novel. When I first read it a little over 30 years ago. I was young. This was my Mexican Wuthering Heights - I thought this was a tragic love story and that Tita and Pedro were meant to be together. Now I know better. Pedro was a coward. Mama Elena was an abusive mother. Tita had so much childhood trauma that she had unregulated emotions and could not see that John was a much better choice of a spouse, because she was convinced that passion = love. Also problematic was the portrayal of the barely mentioned Black characters. When Gertrudis (who we find out is the daughter of Mama Elena and a mulatto man, hence is 1/4 Black) runs off with the revolutionaries she joins a brothel. To paraphrase Gertrudis, she had to go through a ton of men to get rid of all the pent up sexual energy. Um, racist stereotype much? Then much later in the novel, we meet her dark-skinned son for just a hot minute, who remains unnamed. Did he not deserved to be named something other than Gertrudis' "mulatto" son? Racism/colorism has always been alive and well in Latino culture, but this felt more like the author's lack of awareness of her own cultural bias than a reflection of the story/characters.
What I did love - the recipes, the love between Nacha and Tita, the magical realism, the blurred lines between the dead and the living, and just seeing Tita finally stand up to her mom, even if was just the ghost of Mama Elena.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content
Minor: Child death, War
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you like 100 years of solitude here is a book for you. I loved the structure of the book, it feels like a book written in the margins of a cookbook. Now I feel this is story that is more of a cautionary tale. Kinda like an extreme version of if you live your life based off of what others expect/traditional standards you are setting yourself up for emotions to boil over. Like how it took so long for Tita to say she hated her mom and never loved her. Only by admitting that did she free herself from her mom's ghost. Do I like Pedro? No. Do I think he's problematic? Yes. But I feel like its ment to show he's not perfect he has flaws that one shouldn't have. Like don't be like him and be afraid to push for who you ACTUALLY want to marry. The absurdity of his logic makes for a crazy read. I think the point is they are all flawed, and with her niece Tita helps make her life not crazy and messy. Tita shows how by having one or two people stick up and actually give a shit for a child makes a hell of a difference. It shows how progress can be made and how hard it is to break family traditions. And how far people will go and accept stuff just to not have neighbors know what's going on. Again I think this is more a cautionary tale of how letting others control your life and make big decisions for you boils over in the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Death of parent, War
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Death of parent
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy
Minor: Child death
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is begging to be analyzed in an essay. There are lots of layers to pull apart!
There were some plot lines and points I didn’t love, but overall I loved the style and narrative voice the most.
There were some plot lines and points I didn’t love, but overall I loved the style and narrative voice the most.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Death
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Tita bajó la cabeza y con la misma fuerza con que sus lágrimas cayeron sobre la mesa, así cayó sobre ella su destino. Y desde ese momento supieron ella y la mesa que no podían modificar ni tantito la dirección de esas fuerzas desconocidas que la obligaban, a la una, a compartir con Tita su sino, recibiendo sus amargas lágrimas desde el momento en que nació, y a la otra a asumir esa absurda determinación.
Tita está perdidamente enamorada de Pedro, el cual la corresponde con la misma intensidad y deseo. Solo hay un problema, la suerte de Tita ha estado echada desde el momento de su nacimiento, al ser la hija menor es su deber cuidar de su madre hasta que esta muera. Mamá Elena, una mujer terca y tradicionalista, se niega a perder a su cuidadora y hace todo lo posible para no solo evitar ese matrimonio sino también quebrar el espíritu de su hija, pero el amor puede más que las tradiciones y el juicio de la sociedad. Contada a través de recetas Como agua para chocolate es una lectura amena cargada de mucho realismo mágico y sazón.
Escuché el audiolibro y me parece el mejor formato para esta lectura porque parece que te estuvieran contando un chisme familiar. Es esa sensación de llegar a la adultez y poder, al fin, sentarte en la misma mesa que tu mamá y tus tías a tomar un cafecito y chismear. Me entretuvo mucho este libro, aun cuando no estaba de acuerdo, o a gusto, con lo que pasaba ni con los personajes.
En resumen: nunca esperen por un hombre que eso no sirve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny