num_pages: 246
description: To the table or to bedYou must come when you are bidThe 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.
language: English
title: Like Water for Chocolate
titlecomplete: Like Water for Chocolate
characters: Juan Alejandrez, Gertrudis de la Garza, Chencha, Pedro Muzquiz, Tita de la Garza, Nacha, Mamá Elena, John Brown, Rosaura de la Garza
genres: Spanish Literature, Historical Fiction, Novels, Fantasy, Classics, Food, Adult, Romance, Fiction, Magical Realism
ratings_count: 359109
places: Mexico
series: Como agua para chocolate
awards: awardedAt: 757411200000
name: American Booksellers Book Of The Year  Award
category: Adult Trade, awardedAt: 757411200000
name: Prêmio Jabuti
category: Tradução
publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group