Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies
12 journalers for this copy...
Like Water For Chocolate, a poignant love story told from a woman's point of view, takes place on the De la Garza ranch in turn-of-the-century Mexico. Cooking and eating play a central role in the tale. The heroine, Tita, a master chef, was literally born in the kitchen. Following tradition, her tyrannical mother decrees that Tita as the youngest must not marry but must instead care for her mother in old age. Unable to communicate freely, Tita concocts recipes so magically potent as to convey her emotions to all who eat her creations- even the chickens-with often hilarious results. Narrator Yareli Arizmendi, who stars in the hit film of this title, puts in a powerful performance.
I read and enjoyed this ages ago. This book has been gathering dust in my bookcase long enough now. When I found it on the wishlist of one of the winners of our autumn lottery, I decided to register and release it, like a 'good' BX-er should :-)
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2 by
bestfriends at
- Ergens in de provincie, Gelderland Netherlands on Monday, December 9, 2013
Released 10 yrs ago (12/9/2013 UTC) at - Ergens in de provincie, Gelderland Netherlands
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Per post op weg naar een van de winnaars van de herfstloterij.
Enjoy!
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3 by
marsala at
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Thank you very much!! What a great choice, it's a novel with recipes, so it combines two of my favourite things!
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4 by
Icila at
Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Tuesday, January 13, 2015
"Don't judge a book by its covers". It's exactly what I'm going to do. :D
Thank you marsala !
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5 by
Icila at
Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Sunday, January 18, 2015
Thank you for sharing. A book which I wouldn't had never chosen myself out of the blues.
Not really my cup of tea but I'm happy to have been done the chance to read it.
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6 by
Icila at
Nantes, Pays de la Loire France on Sunday, January 18, 2015
Released 9 yrs ago (1/19/2015 UTC) at Nantes, Pays de la Loire France
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En route to Lilyklip in Germany. Enjoy !
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7 by
LilyKlip at
Leipzig, Sachsen Germany on Saturday, January 24, 2015
This one was a bit of a rollercoaster ride (and I have to admit I hopped off way before the end). The cover put me off at first and the first couple of pages were quite boring. Then the story picked up and I got pulled in just to get thrown off again a few pages later. So, I gave up after chapter 3. Sorry, but neither the story nor the characters or the writing style convinced me enough to keep reading :-(
Thank you for sharing it anyway. I hope some of the others will appreciate it more than I could.
Will pass this on to Grovalskii in the next few days.
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8 by
grovalskii at
Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany on Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Apparently I already read all of the good books. :-) I read this one a few years back and here is what my comments where when I read it:
"This was a fun read! Like a fairy tale for adults, though a strage fairy tale. A few times I laughted out loud (e.g. bottom of p226). Very romantic, too. I really enjoyed this book."
I'll keep the book with me for a bit and then pass it on to the next reader in about a month or so.
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9 by
grovalskii at
Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany on Thursday, March 12, 2015
Released 9 yrs ago (3/12/2015 UTC) at Zehlendorf, Berlin Germany
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moving on to the next reader. Enjoy!
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10 by
bluezwuzl at
Altdorf (Niederbayern), Bayern Germany on Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The book arrived today. Thanks for sending it my way. Judging from the entries, this is going to be a fun read!
I often have difficulties with South-American literature. Its not that I couldn't accept phantastic elements. I just don't like the brutality related to all human emotions and relationships.
The book wasn't as much fun as expected and the a-month-a-recipe form somewhat exploded at the End... As for the recipes - there seems to be a very unrealistic element there, too...
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11 by
earthcaroleanne at
Falkirk, Scotland United Kingdom on Friday, May 8, 2015
Sorry I don't seem to have journalled this when I received it.
I’m not a cook, I especially don’t like Mexican or spicy food and I hate chocolate so the cooking parts didn’t do much for me. And I didn’t find the romantic bits particularly romantic so there goes the second reason for enjoying it.
I found the story is quite surreal in parts and I think the description of folklore or fairytale would be quite appropriate. Considering I’m quite happy to read books where things that could never happen, do, I found these unrealistic things quite annoying in this book. For example when she took the blanket she had been knitting out of the drawer, it covered all three hectares of the ranch…
This is yet another book where I’m not sure why it ended up on the 1001 list.
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12 by
earthcaroleanne at
Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Saturday, May 9, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (5/11/2015 UTC) at Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom
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On it's way in the roundabout.
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13 by
dark-draco at
Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Thank you - received it yesterday. I like cooking and I like chocolate, so it could be a hit - we'll wait and see :)
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14 by
dark-draco at
Ledbury, Herefordshire United Kingdom on Thursday, May 28, 2015
I wasn't sure what to expect from this, especially as I've seen some negative reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I loved the format ... the recipes interspersed with a love story, even if it did get a bit surreal at times. But as a huge fantasy fan, I could cope with the fairytale element and thoroughly enjoyed how they brought that tu=ouch of magic to what is actually a really sad story. You can't help but feel for Tita, trying to do the best she can with an overbearing mother and the love of her life married to her sister. Some of the recipes sounded great too, although I'm not sure about cooking mole! I'll definitely have to track down the film to see how they manage to bring it to the screen.
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15 by
sarahmangan at
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire United Kingdom on Monday, June 1, 2015
This has actually been on my list to read for a while - I'm glad you've given me an extra push to read it! Thanks :)
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16 by
sarahmangan at
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire United Kingdom on Saturday, July 25, 2015
This was definitely an interesting pick for the roundabout- it seems to have really divided opinions!
I loved it - it's definitely my favourite one in the roundabout so far. I did feel really sorry for poor Rosaura though - I think she probably suffered even more than Tita from her mother's decree and I would have liked to hear her side of the story. I also can't help but think Tita ended up with the wrong man too!
A great choice - one I've been meaning to read for a while and another 1001 book off the list!
I'll get this posted onwards next week.
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17 by
sarahmangan at
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire United Kingdom on Sunday, August 2, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (8/3/2015 UTC) at Nottingham, Nottinghamshire United Kingdom
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Posted onwards.
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18 by
katrinat at
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
I found this in my postbox when I arrived home from my holiday. I read this a few years back and didn't enjoy it, which is strange as I love magical realism and this is always high on the top ten magical realist books you should read.
I'll post it on to the next reader in the next few days, thanks.
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19 by
katrinat at
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (8/26/2015 UTC) at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex United Kingdom
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Sending this on to the next reader, I hope they enjoy it as I know it is often cited as a great book with many fans.
Thanks for taking the time to journal this book. Bookcrossing aims to keep books moving and meeting to readers, firstly to spread the love of reading but also so books don't just aquire dust for years on end. I hope that you enjoy reading this book and when you have finished with it that you are able to pass it to a new reader or leave it somewhere for somebody new to discover.
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20 by
Andrasthe at
Klagenfurt, Kärnten Austria on Monday, August 31, 2015
got it
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21 by
Andrasthe at
Klagenfurt, Kärnten Austria on Saturday, September 12, 2015
I like stories that are set somewhere other than the usual European or Anglo-American hotspots, so somewhere in Mexico suited me fine. The narration has a distinct flavour to it, I doubt you'd find in a North American story. The recipee parts complemented the narration and the bits of "cooked or baked" emotion conveyed to the family and guests on various occasions worked well with the rest.
Overall a quick and enjoyable read, even if I found the ending terrible. I coudn't quite get to be happy for the pair. None of the characters are perfect or without fault, but Prince Charming really got on my nerves in the end. I would have liked to see a less circular development in this regard. I really enjoyed the evil mother figure and of course Gertrudis ;)
The ultimate outcome was as kitschy as expected and cheapened the whole a bit in my opinion.
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22 by
Fifna at
Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Sunday, October 18, 2015
Arrived safely, thanks Andrasthe!
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23 by
Fifna at
Voorburg, Zuid-Holland Netherlands on Monday, December 7, 2015
This was a good choice for the roundabout. Indeed a fairy tale for adults, so suspension of disbelief really working overtime! But once I managed to accept that, I really enjoyed it.
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24 by
Fifna at
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Monday, December 7, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (12/5/2015 UTC) at Amsterdam, Noord-Holland Netherlands
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On its way back to marsala. That's the roundabout completed for me!