Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate was released in 1989. Esquivel uses magical realism to combine the ordinary and the supernatural, with narrative devices similar to Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez and Chilean author Isabel Allende. Como agua para chocolate is set during the Mexican Revolution of the early Twentieth Century and features the importance of the kitchen and food in the life of its female protagonist, Tita, and the largely female cast of characters. The book is divided into twelve sections, each named after a month of the year, and each section begins with a traditional Mexican recipe. The chapters outline the preparation of the dish and ties the cooking to a significant event in the protagonist's life. Esquivel has stated that she believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure. The title Like Water for Chocolate refers to a colloquial phrase used in Mexico that refers to an extremity of feeling as it refers to a boiling point in terms of anger, passion, or sexuality." The idea for the book came to Esquivel "while she was cooking the recipes of her mother and grandmother." Reportedly, "Esquivel used an episode from her own family to write her book. She had a great-aunt named Tita who was forbidden to wed and spent her life caring for her mother. Soon after her mother died, so did Tita." The book has been a tremendous international success and was the Number 1 best-selling book in Mexico for three years. The novel has been translated into more than 20 languages.