Rating: 
Summary: The Pages will Swift by
Review: I was fortunate to find a copy of SWIFT AS DESIRE during this past summer when it was still a publisher's proof. I was very thrilled to find the copy, especially considering that Esquivel doesn't publish much. I also picked up the book, only because I never read LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, so though many reviews claim that Esquivel does not capture the essence she had in her award winning novel LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, I found that SWIFT AS DESIRE to be charming and an excellent read. Esquivel's use of language is invigorating and capturing, and her story is one that keeps the reader mesmorized as the rush to find out the tragedy that lead to Jubilo's separation to the only woman he ever truly loved, comes closer and closer to a shocking end. It's a novel that also captures the importance of time according to the human condition, and how important time is to the quality of communication and expressing what is truly important in life...to be happy and to be able to love unconditionally. I'm not at all a fan of love stories or romances. In all honesty I look the other way when I see those types of books in a store or library, yet I highly reccomend this book, just for the simple inginuity Esquivel's employs in capturing her theme.
Rating: 
Summary: Passion, Love and misunderstandings
Review: No, this book is not like "Like Water for Chocolate", but then why would you expect it to be. This book was wonderful, I could not put it down. This book has it all.....a little mysticism, some humor, and love and passion. Read between the lines and you will not be disappointed. It tells about how Jubilo is born, how much his grandmother loves him, a little about the culture of Mayan and Spanish. Jubilo falls in love with Lucha, the daughter of a wealthy mexican family. Lucha loves Jubilo also. Their passion goes on for years.....from when Lucha is 13 till they marry. Lucha is feeling such passion for Jubilo that she decides to marry him so they can fullfil their desire. But married life isn't what she expected. They go through many trials and tribulations. Their passion never seems to die. Jubilo works as a telegraph operator......he changes the messages of his customers to help them communicate what they hope to. Lucha is upset that her life isn't fullfilled enough like when she was a little girl living with her parents and had everything she wanted. They have children and somewhere along the storyline......things aren't communicated and life is not as it seems. And the passion seems to die.......or does it??? The story goes back and forth from the present to the past.......telling how Jubilo's daughter is trying to help him to communicate again since he has Parkinson's and is blind. With the help of his friends and her daughter...they do this. What did I get out of this book? The fact that many times we marry young and don't realize what we are getting into. That many times we make assumptions of what the other spouse is thinking, when it isn't that way at all. That if we just accepted life as it were......would we all have the problems we do today? I read Like Water for Chocolate and this book is not like that.......but written in the same manner that Esquivel writes. She writes in a manner for you to think about what you are reading. And her characters are so funny, loving, and entertaining. I can't wait to read her next book.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable
Review: One of the best book I've read! I finished it in 3 goes! (This is by a person who has a number of books abandoned after a few chapters). And no, I haven't read Chocolate. Characters are developed well until I feel I really know them. I can understand both sides of the antagonists, and feel for both. Events are unfolded nicely in between curiosities, keeping me reading further and further. It presents the power of love in keeping hearts together, tearing them apart, and patching it all up. Deep, bittersweet and memorable. Look for the morale of it, and it definitely leaves a mark in your heart.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: The author of "Like Water For Chocolate" has provided readers with another entertaining story, this one a tribute to her father. By no means is "Swift as Desire" as magical as her first novel, but I found it to be a quick and pleasurable novel to read. The plot is compelling and the reader quickly becomes invested in the outcome of the characters. Comparisions to "Like Water for Chocolate" will occur, as Ms. Esquivel writes within the same genre of literature as her first book. Yet, there is a magical quality about "Swift as Desire": the author is able to effectively tell the story of her father and his life as a telegraph operator. The parallels and dualisms that operate on many different levels due to his occupation as an interpreter will keep the reader's interest.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This book was absolutely beautiful and magical. I read this book before I read like Water for Chocolate, so had no expectations, which is perhaps why I seem to like it so much more than people who have read her other books. I loved both Water and Desire, but Desire wins by a long mile. One of the few books I've read that have been honest about relationships but still sweet.
If you haven't read Esquivel before, don't be put off by the other reviews, pick up this book and read it! Excelente!
Rating: 
Summary: Good but no where near Like Water for Chocolate
Review: This book was good. It's an okay story and it is written in the same style of Like Water For Chocolate. The similarities are too much and the story isn't anywhere near as good. So if you haven't read Like Water For Chocolate, read that first. If you love that book, you will enjoy this book as well.
Rating:
Summary: Good but no where near Like Water for Chocolate
Review: This book was good. It's an okay story and it is written in the same style of Like Water For Chocolate. The similarities are too much and the story isn't anywhere near as good. So if you haven't read Like Water For Chocolate, read that first. If you love that book, you will enjoy this book as well.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This was an enjoyable short novel about love and understanding. Esquivel's main character, Júbilo, was a telegraph operater with the ability to read/see and interpret another person's thoughts and feelings. Júbilo used his gift to get people together and make his way through life. Unfortunately, his gift did not always work in his favor, all of which comes out in his love for his wife and family. "Swift as Desire" has a few slow parts that drag parts of the novel down, but overall it's worth reading.
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