Reviews

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

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katmystery's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The insta-love got on my nerves, but I enjoyed the delectable descriptions of food and the book's silliness; it didn't take itself seriously, which made it quite a fun read. The least depressing magical realism book I've read, though still not a very happy one.

alouisecabin's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

colleengeedrumm's review against another edition

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4.0

To the table or to bed
You must come when you are bid.

How a soul that hasn't been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless.

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 the 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. For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive it.

Ah, and let me suggest, next time you fall in love, don't be such a coward!

Life would be much nicer if one could carry the smells and tastes of the maternal home wherever one pleased.

Now she admired the way they (seeds) opened their skin and allowed the water to penetrate them fully, until they were split asunder to make way for new life. She imagined the pride they felt as the tip of the first root emerged from inside them, the humility which they accepted the loss of their previous form, the bravery with which they showed the world their new leaves. Tita would love to be a simple seed, not to have to explain to anyone what was growing inside her, to show her fertile body to the world without laying herself open to society's disapproval. Seeds didn't have that kind of problem, they didn't have a mother to be afraid of or a fear of those who would judge them.

If a strong emotion suddenly lights all the candles we carry inside ourselves, it creates a brightness that shines far beyond our normal vision and then a splendid tunnel appears that shows us the way that we forgot when we were born and calls us to recover our lost divine origin. The soul longs to return to the place it came from, leaving the body lifeless.