Like Water for Chocolate

"Chocolate on Boiling Water" opens a new chapter in Latin American “magical realism.” In the most paradoxical way, this book combines reality and fiction, eroticism and mysticism, a love story and recipes from Mexican cuisine. For her debut novel, Laura Esquivel received such a prestigious literary award as the prize of the American Booksellers Association.

You probably have an idea of Mexican TV serials. “Chocolate on Boiling Water” belongs to the same world. He loves her, she loves him, but for complicated reasons they can’t be together for many, many years. Then, however, they reunite with such a force of passion that they die in each other’s arms. Everything is seasoned for the reader’s delight with sharp humor. And for the cooks’ delight—with endless recipes of dishes made by the main heroine, a born cook, fiery and faithful in her one true love, Tita, throughout the story. Love with a little spice—Mexican exoticism!