Romantic and poignant tale of family life and cultural traditions in turn-of-the-century Mexico

Literature & Fiction > United States

Instead of entering the world crying like other babies, Júbilo was born with a smile on his face. He had a gift for hearing what was in people's hearts, for listening to sand dunes sing and insects whisper. Even as a young boy, acting as an interpreter between his warring Mayan grandmother and his Spanish-speaking mother, he would translate words of spite into words of respect, so that their mutual hatred turned to love. When he grew up, he put his...

"Thirty years after the publication of the best-seller Like Water for Chocolate comes Tita's Diary, an intimate look at the life of the main character who embodies love, passion and the communication of emotions through food in early 20th Century Mexico. When Tita falls in love with Pedro, she is told that being the youngest of three sisters, she will never be allowed to marry as she will have to care for her mother. Tita's Diary is much more than...

Lupita's hard-knock life has gotten the better of her time and time again. A childhood robbed of innocence set off a chain of events that she still has not managed to control, no matter how hard she tries. Every time she thinks she has a handle on things, unexpected turns make her question everything, including herself. When Lupita witnesses the murder of a local politician whom she greatly admires, the ghosts of her past resurface as she tries to...

"Between Two Fires is a wonderful collection of the best of Esquivel's passionate speeches, short writings, and recipes from the last decade or so, most never published in English. Funny, poignant, imaginative, and insightful, Esquivel muses on all the topics we have come to associate with her - love, life, family, and of course, the importance of food in all aspects of human experiences - while also giving us a rare look at what makes her tick. Beautifully...

Un cuento romantico y de amor y la vida durante los finales del siglo en Mexico, donde la hija menor tiene que perder todas las esperanzas de casarse y pasar el resto de su vida cuidando a su mama. (A romantic and poignant tale of love and family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico, where youngest daughter is expected to give up all hopes of marriage and spend the rest of her life taking care of her mother.)

In early 20th century Mexico, Tita and Pedro are in love, but cannot marry because of a family tradition. To be near Tita, Pedro marries her sister and Tita, as the family cook, expresses her passion through preparing delectable dishes. Story of forbidden love that takes place on a ranch in Mexico near the Texas border in 1910, during the Mexican Revolution. Pedro wishes to marry Tita, the youngest of three daughters of a willful widow on a remote...

Tita and Pedro are passionately in love. But their love is forbidden by an ancient family tradition. To be near Tita, Pedro marries her sister. And Tita, as the family cook, expresses her passion for Pedro through preparing delectable dishes. Now, in Tita's kitchen, ordinary spices become a recipe for passion. Her creations bring on tears of longing, heated desire, or chronic pain, while Tita and Pedro wait for the moment to fulfill their most hidden...