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Summary: Recommended reading for intermediate students of Spanish
Review: (By Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language & How to Learn One," ISBN:1591133343)On one hand, this book is a melodramatic love story that waxes a bit TOO melodramatic at certain points. However, the book is also entertaining. There are numerous gothic elements: forbidden love, strange family traditions, even a hint of the supernatural. Moreover, Como Agua Para Chocolate provides insights into a turbulent era in Mexican history. As a native English speaker, I would recommend this book to anyone who has studied 2~3 years of Spanish. Spanish novels are often more difficult to decipher than nonfiction, but Esquivel's prose is highly readable, and within the grasp of non-native Spanish speakers. This is not a book that is going to change your life, but it's well worth the time and money.
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Summary: Fantastic story and ...
Review: ... a fantastic movie. I saw the movie when it first came out, and have just read the book. However much I enjoyed the film, I must say that reading this story is even more enjoyable than watching it on screen. You feel for the main character in this book, Tita, and you can almost smell her emotion-infused recipes as you read about their preparation. I strongly recommend this book.
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Summary: !La receta para exito!
Review: 1. Hecha una copa de pasion con dos cucharadas de fuego. 2. Entonces adiciona un toque de petalos de rosas,(rojo preferible). 3. Pensando en el unico amor de tu vida, mezcla los ingredientes en su corazon usando to alma como cuchara por unas horas. 4. Quedate feliz en la memoria que has creado por dos o tres semanas.
5. Recomienda el libro a otra persona!
Rating:
Summary: Definitely pick this one up.
Review: A delightful, fun, easy to read novel that doesn't hesitate to disregard the natural laws of reality in order to improve the effect of a scene, like having its protagonist cry so much during her birth that the floor had to be swept for it was literally flooded with tears, to characters who behave more drastically and spontaneously than in reality in order to move the plot along, and yet, despite this, the characters, the plot, and the literal magic of Tita's cooking, somehow ring true to life on a more funadamental level, so that once you start, you won't be able to put it down. A great book.
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Summary: a feast of the 5 senses, come to life
Review: besides the excellent recipes wholly printed in the book version, here is my review of the movie, which is not as detailed nor able to be prolonged but is true to the book (unlike other movie versions of books in which some stuff is changed): after you watch this movie, you will either want to eat, cook (preferably one of the mentioned recipes), make love or all three! i saw the version dubbed in spanish, and also read 3 selected chapters from the book, for spanish class. it's a work of art and genius, and it must be watched all the way through without stopping. the characters are excellently portrayed, and it combines love, feminism, drama, sensuality, lust, hope, passion, and humour, topped with cultural tradition and folklore. i don't know which one is better, the book or the movie. all of the 5 senses are provoked on a deep and perhaps even primal level, especially taste and smell, feverishly yearning for a sum greater than their overall parts (gestalt) - which brings up the sixth sense, intuition.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginativo e historico...
Review: Como agua para Chocolate captura la cultura latinoamericana con su sabor a miel y fuego, con la dulzura de la noche y la agresividad de sus familias. La historia es excelente, pero en cierta manera antigua en la manera en que el romanticismo captura los personajes. Es una buena introduccion a los andares de la literatura latinoamericana pero no una obra maestra en este genero.
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Summary: Un libro muy especial
Review: Como Agua Para Chocolate fue el primer libro que lei en espanol. Me gusto la historia, especialmente los presonajes. La autora desarrolla muy profundamente los sentimentos, suenos y deseos de los protagonistas. No podia esperar para ver que iba a pasar en el proximo capitulo. Fue fascinante leer sobre esa epoca y el effecto que tenia en sus vidas. La manera en que la autora ha mezclado la preparacion de la comida con los eventos importantes en las vidas de los personajes me parecio muy especial. Tambien el libro es bueno para los estudiantes de espanol porque es facil para leer y no necesitan traducir cada palabra para entender la idea general. El libro hizo su magia en mi espanol tambien, porque despues de leerlo, pude hablar mucho mejor!!
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Summary: EXCELENTE!
Review: COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE is an EXCELLENT book. It is easy to read, clear and understandible. It took me 8 hours to read and I enjoyed it every single second. It is such a good work of art that I will read it over and over again! Those that didn't like it, don't appreaciate cultural differences.
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Summary: El mejor libro en espanol que he leido
Review: Cuando empece a leer esta novela, no pense en lo que se trataba. Sabia que era famosoa y que gano muchisimo premios, pero la foto en la portada me asusto, no sabia si era un libro tan romantico que no podia leer.. me equivioque o mejor dicho lei todo en un ratito. ME ENCANTO MUCHISIMO. Aunque hay algunas partes increibles, este libro tiene ideas y muestra la mujer en la manera en que ella existia por mucho tiempo. Lo voy a usar para mi proyecto en ingles, aunque lo lei en espanol. no se muy dificil tampoco. Llevo 5 años ne espanol, y comprendi todo! Ese fue el primer libro que he completado en espanol, y ma hace querer leer mas y mas. LEANLO!
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Summary: La pasion latina en su apogeo
Review: Definitivamente, esta obra por Laura Esquivel es facinante. La autora por medio de descripciones vivas nos presenta la realidad del mundo hispanoamericano. La sensualidad, sexualidad, pasion, creencias, opresiones que forman parte de la cultura a hispanoamericana se derrama por medio de las situaciones y personajes de la novela. El lenguaje aunque es simple no deja de ser preciso y crea un ambiente de magia en el cual nos sumergimos mientras leemos y se nos hace casi imposible no impregnarnos de la pasión que emiten los olores de la cocina de Tita, el personaje principal.
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