THE INTOXICATING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ABOUT 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 Like Water For Chocolate tells the captivating story of the De la Garza family. As the youngest daughter, Tita is forbidden by Mexican tradition to marry. Instead, she pours all of her emotions into her delicious recipes, which she shares with readers along the way.When Tita falls in love with Pedro, he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. Unfortunately, he's married to her sister... Filled with recipes, longing and bittersweet humour, this charming story of one family's life in turn-of-the-century Mexico has captivated readers all over the world and was made into an award-winning film. '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

A highly original novel by one of Mexico's most important storytellers, "Como agua para chocolate" is written in the style of the serialized novels so popular in the nineteenth century. Each chapter starts with a traditional northern Mexican recipe. In effect, cooking is the exclusive means of expression open to the female protagonist, who doesn't entirely conform to the limited role that both society and her family have given her."Como agua para chocolate" is a fresco of rural Mexican society between 1910 and 1933, and a portrayal of the deep-rooted traditions that the novel's heroine confronts. Tita, the youngest child of a charismatic woman, is trapped in a destiny predetermined at birth: family tradition dictates that the youngest daughter must renounce marriage and devote herself to the care of her mother. Tita, however, is passionately in love with Pedro, her eldest sister's husband. She is also pursued by John Brown, an American doctor who offers her an austere and serene form of love. Twenty years later, Tita and Pedro finally come together through fire and death.

Cuando Malinalli conoce a Hernan Cortes, asume que se trata del propio Dios Quetzalcoatl que regresa a liberar a su pueblo. Los dos se enamoran apasionadamente, pero este amor pronto es destruido por la desmedida sed de conquista, poder y riqueza de Cortes.

A lo largo de la historia de Mexico Malinalli/Malinche ha sido conocida por su traicion al pueblo indio. Pero recientes investigaciones historicas han demostrado que Malinalli fue la mediadora entre dos culturas, la hispanica y la indigena; y entre dos lenguas, el espanol y el nahuatl.

Lo que Esquivel ha hecho en esta novela es desafiar la mitologia tradicional mediante un retrato muy temperamental del Adan y la Eva de la cultura mestiza, Cortes y Malinalli, con la caida del imperio azteca como telon de fondo. Contada con el lirismo de la tradicion cantarina y pictorica del nahuatl, Laura Esquivel nos brinda un mito fundacional de la cultura hibrida del Nuevo Mundo y una extraordinaria historia de amor.

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in tum-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit.

As the millions of fans of Like Water for Chocolate know, Laura Esquivel is a romanticist whose novels explore the power of love and the truths of the human heart. She returns to those themes in Swift as Desire, the story of a loving and passionate man who has the gift of bringing happiness to everyone except his own wife.

The hero of this novel is Júbilo Chi, a telegraph operator who is born with the ability to “hear” people’s true feelings and respond to their most intimate, unspoken desires. His life changes forever the day he falls deeply and irrevocably in love with Lucha, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy family. She believes money is necessary to insure happiness, while for Júbilo, who is poor, love and desire are more important than possessions. But their passion for each other enables them to build a happy life together -- until their idyll is shattered by a terrible event that drives them bitterly apart. Only years later, as Júbilo lies dying, is his daughter able to unravel the mystery behind her parents’ long estrangement and bring about a surprising reconciliation.

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. The classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef. She shares special points of her favorite preparations with listeners throughout the story.

The Spanish language edition of the best-selling Like Water For Chocolate is a remarkable success in its own right. Now, in this mass market edition, thousands of new readers will be able to partake in the sumptuous, romantic, and hilarious tale of Tita, the terrific cook with an extra special something in her sauce.


From the Paperback edition.

Laura Esquivel regresa con una novela de gran belleza y compasión. Mientras Como agua para chocolate se basó en la vida de su madre, en Tan veloz como el deseo Esquivel hace un trabajo de ficción acerca de la vida de su padre en México. Nacido con la curiosa habilidad de entender los mensajes ocultos en los sentimientos humanos, Don Júbilo se convierte en un traductor que ayuda a otros a solucionar problemas de comunicación en sus relaciones. Sin embargo, cuando una tragedia destruye su matrimonio, es la habilidad de su hija para escuchar que reunirá a Don Júbilo en su cama de muerte con su esposa. La señora Esquivel nos muestra con cariño, estilo y humor como el mantener secretos nos llevara a ser infelices y como la comunicación es la llave para alcanzar el amor.