Water for Chocolate

Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is written in an interesting format, pairing the characters’ love affairs with meals. Each chapter described the latest news in the struggling relationship between Tita and her sister’s husband, Pedro, in addition to a recipe dispersed throughout the story. As the book’s cover describes it, it is “A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies”. In addition to the unique format, I also enjoyed how Esquivel used metaphors to explain what couldn’t really be explained. It seems as if the story was passed through several generations. For example, at one point in the story, Esquivel describes sparks flying between bodies to demonstrate the chemistry between Tita and Pedro. All of a sudden, the room that they are in catches fire because of the heat of their love. I thought these impossibly literal descriptions added to the novel’s charm. My only complaint of the book is how underdeveloped Tita and Pedro’s relationship was. From the start of the book, it is clear that they are in love, but their love is never shown through anything but acts of jealousy and passion. John, another man courting Tita, is described in depth about his kind hearted personality and his care for Tita. I wish that Pedro was portrayed as having a personality other than how he acts when with Tita. Despite this one flaw, I really enjoyed this book.