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Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, War
For these reasons, Like Water For Chocolate has been on my to-read list for over a decade. Maybe this long lead time resulted in my expectations being too high, because I was very disappointed in this novel.
I loved the fairytale-like lyricism and outlandish surrealism of the grand magical moments. I didn't even mind the thinness of the novel's premise regarding the tyrannical monstrosity of Mama Elena, the archetypal wicked witch/evil stepmother despite being the biological parent of Tita, the MC. Their relationship and her cruelty she inflicted on her family was the heart of the novel for me, and I think that the novel really went off the rails after
What I struggled with was the limpness of Tita's character, and the febrile hollowness of the love story between her and Pedro. While the passivity of Tita serves the plot, and is required for the emotional outbursts of magic in her cooking to carry any weight, it makes her incapable of action to the point of unlikeability.
Similarly, while the romance between her and Pedro is heightened and inflamed, at no point are we shown *why* these two are in love with each other beyond their unresolved physical attraction towards each other. Pedro's character is weak and spineless as several other characters make a point of lampshading, and there is no explanation as to why Tita would remain in love with him once this weakness is revealed to her.
The scene in which their love is
Although I was grateful that the book was quite short, I found the huge time jump annoying and gratuitous. I also didn't understand what the resolution of this book was trying to say. Was it a happy ending, or a tragedy? Is the power of true love inevitable? Or was it just a rushed resolution that shoehorned in the Chekhov's gun of an extended proverb that was introduced for no reason halfway through the book? (This. It was this.)
In summary, I do not understand why this is such a lauded example of the magical realism genre from a female Latinx perspective when Isabel Allende is RIGHT THERE.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
This book is short and keeps you coming back for more, wondering what Tita will cook up next.
While I did really enjoy this, I really struggled with the unloveable characters.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, War
Minor: Animal death, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury
I haven't decided whether I genuinely liked it or not yet, but it was such an interesting read and very, very unpredictable. I'm glad I picked it up hihi
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal cruelty, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking
Graphic: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Vomit
Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War
Minor: Animal death, Eating disorder, Abortion, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism
However I felt that the meals were more developed than the characters, and many large plot points were skimmed over. A few times I had to re-read sections to make sure I didn’t miss a page or two. Ultimately I had little emotion about the romance, heartbreaks, or traumas that any of them experienced.
Also I found the spicy scenes to be boring and sometimes creepy. Especially the first time between
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Rape
Minor: Death, Racism, Suicide, War
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia