"Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel

Delicious and quirky little novel that lovingly (and knowingly) continues the South American literary tradition of Magical realism while giving it a particular, feminine twist and perspective. Sure, it does remind a little bit of a work by Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa but only because they are Esquivel's spiritual predecessors and she definitely has her own independent voice - if anything, Esquivel affectionately weaves her own tale writing from her own point so if it all feels somehow familiar, its because we know the other two celebrated authors already. Deceptively simple - almost like some ancient folk tale - "Like Water for Chocolate" (expression used to describe a boiling point) the plot focuses on Cinderella-like family melodrama (pretty cook Tita is in love with Pedro but can't get married because its the family tradition that youngest daughter stays single and takes care of the mother) but more than the plot itself, the heart of the novel is in the bizarrely peculiar characters, their wonderfully eccentric lives and unpredictable twists and turns of Esquivel's imagination that has them all over the map. 

To be perfectly honest, because I approached it without any previous knowledge of what am I getting myself into, initially I found it all a little bit too insubstantial and as fluffy as some cake decorations from recipes that frame each chapter. My first impression was actually negative because I had to turn my head around and see it again from a different place to start appreciating what Esquivel is trying to do - although the story is set in specific time, Esquivel intentionally wrote it almost as a fairy tale, using simple but picturesque style and some pictures are truly unforgettable. Because the lives of these women were confined to indoors and mostly kitchen, this is the whole universe of pretty Tita who pours her joys, sorrows, tears and passions into her cooking and accidentally effects everybody who dinners at family table. I thought "what a silly book" when I read it but giggled for days afterwards.