Guide to magical realism

Reading lists

A guide to magical realism

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Reading Remedy: books to help you deal with unrequited love

Swift As Desire

A magical, sensual love story about a Mexian telegraph operator who sets the world to rights by benevolently mistranslating messages - from the bestselling author of LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.

'Esquivel's special gift is making ordinary lives appear extraordinary.. Ten years since LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, but (Esquivel) has lost none of her touch.'

'Esquivel tells a story with earthy, observant sensuality ... it vividly evokes universal emotions in an exotic world.'

'A beautiful story, rich with love, that closely examines language, communication and misunderstanding.'

Laura Esquivel is one of Mexico's most celebrated writers. She now divides her time between Mexico City and New York. Originally a screenwriter, she wrote the script for the award-winning film of her first book, Like Water for Chocolate.

Don Jubilo entered the world smiling rather than crying like other babies, and his life mission is to bring happiness to everyone's lives. Even as a young boy, acting as interpreter between his warring Mayan grandmother and his Spanish-speaking mother, he mistranslates words of spite into words of respect, so that their mutual hatred turns to love. When he grows up, he puts his gift for hearing what is in people's hearts and interpreting it to others, to good use in his job as the village telegraph operator. But the telegraph now lies abandoned, obsolete as a means of communication in the electronic age, and don Jubilo is on his deathbed, mute and estranged from his beloved wife, Lucha, who refuses to speak to him. What tragic event has come between such two sensuous, giving people to cause this seemingly irreparable rift? What mystery lies behind the death of their son, Ramiro, whom no one ever mentions? Can daughter Lluvia bring reconciliation to their parents by acting as an interpreter between them, just as Jubilo did for his grandmother and mother when he was a boy? 
 
This bittersweet story of the humble telegraph operator with a talent for curing misunderstanding, for hearing sand dunes sing and insects whisper, is based on the story of Laura Esquivel's own father, just as the much-loved LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE was inspired by her mother's family. Romantic, poignant, touched with graphic earthiness and wit, Esquivel shows us how, in our computerised world of excess, keeping secrets will always lead to unhappiness, and how old-fashioned speaking to each other can redress and heal all our wrongs.

Laura Esquivel

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time

It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist

If originality, a compelling tale and an adventure in the kitchen are what you crave, Like Water For Chocolate serves up the full helping

A wondrous, romantic tale, fuelled by mystery and superstitition as well as by the recipes that introduce each chapter

Exuberant... for those who like their wines full-bodied and their meals rich and zesty... earthly secrets of strength, suffering, passion and cooking in a humorous and well-drawn portrait of a woman who loves as well as she cooks

Subverts macho morality with refreshingly unexpected narrative twists magical realism... pacing that rivals Romancing the Stone

An enchanting book, an open-eyed fairy story

Wonderful... hard to put down... it is rare to come across a book so unusual

The intoxicating international bestseller about forbidden love, cooking and magic, perfect for fans of Joanne Harris and Isabel Allende. 
 
'This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and summering sensuality is something I will savour for a long time' MAUREEN LIPMAN 
 
The number one bestseller in Mexico and America for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes. 
 
A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. In desperation Pedro marries her sister Rosaura so that he can stay close to her. 
 
For the next twenty-two years Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds. 
 
'A joy... Has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist' LITERARY REVIEW 
 
'An epic love story with recipes and a sprinkling of magical realism' WASHINGTON POST 
 
'Enchanting...an open-eyed fairy story complete with ugly sister' BARBARA TRAPIDO 
 
'A Mexican culinary romance to make the mouth water' SHE 
 
'Ingenious' INDEPENDENT

Laura Esquivel

Praise for Like Water For Chocolate

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time

Charming, instructive, savoury

It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time

Charming, instructive, savoury

It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist

This magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and simmering sensuality is something I shall savour for a long time

Charming, instructive, savoury

It's a joy... it has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist

Books by Laura Esquivel

Articles featuring Laura Esquivel

A guide to magical realism

Reading Remedy: books to help you deal with unrequited love

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