Like Water for Chocolate (novel)

Like Water for Chocolate
U.S. book cover
AuthorLaura Esquivel
Original titleComo agua para chocolate
TranslatorCarol and Thomas Christensen
LanguageSpanish
GenreRomance, Magical realism, Tragedy
Publisher1989 (Mexico)
Doubleday, 1992
Perfection Learning, 1995 (U.S)
Publication placeMexico
Pages256 (Spanish)
ISBN978-0385721233 (Spanish)
ISBN 978-0780739079 (English)

Like Water for Chocolate (Spanish: Como agua para chocolate) is a novel by Mexican novelist and screenwriter Laura Esquivel.[1] It was first published in Mexico in 1989.[2] The English version of the novel was published in 1992.[3]

The novel follows the story of a young woman named Tita, who longs for her beloved, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother's upholding of the family tradition: the youngest daughter cannot marry, but instead must take care of her mother until she dies. Tita is only able to express herself when she cooks.

Esquivel employs magical realism to combine the supernatural with the ordinary throughout the novel.[4]

The novel won the American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Adult Trade in 1994.[5]

  1. ^ "Laura Esquivel Biography". Biography.com. 1950-09-30. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of contemporary Latin American and Caribbean cultures. Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez, Ana M. López. London: Routledge. 2000. p. 405. ISBN 0-415-13188-X. OCLC 44128802.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ^ Esquivel, Laura (1992). Like water for chocolate: a novel in monthly installments, with recipes, romances, and home remedies (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-42016-7.
  4. ^ Dennard, Mackenzie E. "Like Water for Chocolate". londonfoodfilmfiesta.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  5. ^ "American Booksellers Book Of The Year Award Winners". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2021-02-24.