Rating: 
Summary: For the passionate chef or even quasi-connoisseur
Review: "Language is also aphrodisiac in regard to food; commenting on the dishes, their flavors and perfumes, is a sensual exercise for which we have a vast vocabulary filled with wit, metaphors, references, humor, word games, and subtleties...It isn't the same thing to peel a shrimp and unceremoniously gulp it down as it is to remove its shell with sybaritic pleasure while commenting on the color, the form, the delicate aroma of the shrimp and the crunch when you bite into it." (p. 106-07)This delicious romp through the history of aphrodisiacs and the pursuit of pleasure is irresistible. The cover and glossy pages caught my eye - it's filled with capricious, bawdy cartoons and provoking art - as would a meal set before me on a platter. Allende tosses in scrumptious details about kings, authors, and various other historical celebrities and their practice of, or influence on the seductive essence of certain foods. Some weird, some totally tasty, some bizarre - all are interesting, shocking, and very persuasive. This isn't a book to take too serious. Rather it is breath of fresh air with a spicy kick! It teases and pleases - it's just plain fun. I felt adventurous, trying some of the recipes. The 'Romantic Chicken' is DE-LISH! The nutmeg made the house smell exotic and I felt artful just tossing things in the pot and stirring the spoon. There is something exciting about food - the more we can enjoy it, the more we allow it to take a hold of us and imbue our senses with utter joy in its purest sense. I think just the idea of the ingredients being aphrodisiac made a difference in the way I was tasting it. It was as if I were taking magic down to my stomach, digesting passionate energy. Try also 'Food: A Culinary History' and 'The Art of the Table'
Rating:
Summary: A delectable literary morcel
Review: A lighthearted diversion into the history of food and sex, this must have been a joyful research project, especially after Allende's last work (Paula). The first two-thirds of this book is the well-written memoir/history; the last third are the recipes. As an erstwhile chef, I disagree with the book's recipes on basic stocks, but stocks are a battlefield on which chefs wage war (although most do so goodnaturedly). I admit to practicing Dissenting Kitchen Politics and boiling my stocks covered, without skimming (I learned this heretical technique from a chef whose Monegasque restaurant sports three Michelin stars). The recipes show a strong creative flair, but tend to be a bit heavy-handed with spices and flavorings. My appreciation of things simple and subtle (such as vanilla bean ice cream or tapenade on toast) is probably a natural defense against the Silicon Valley mayhem of things loud, fast, and shiny, but then again, Allende's life is quite different from mine. I suppose in the spirit of this book, it is pointless to have a bibliography and index, something I would normally expect in a history or recipe book (although this book occasionally tries to be both). Personally, I would have gotten just as much literary satisfaction with only a few recipes, but since they are mostly annexed in the final section, they don't detract from the flow of the main body of text. This book is successful in making me realize that perhaps I should be amassing a similar recipe collection, if only for my own personal use and not for publication.
Rating: 
Summary: our kitchen is always warm
Review: A complete inspiration... send the kids to grandma and prepare a naked feast. Wash your hands after chopping peppers. Suck a mango pit with your lover. Isabel, thank you.
Rating:
Summary: Aphrodite Yes!
Review: A wonderful work. It changed my life and my way of cooking.
Rating:
Summary: A must for any cook!
Review: A wonderful, sensual read full of things that will make you lick your lips and laugh out loud. I enjoyed this book much more than Eva Luna, although elements (such as the aphrodisiac stew) can be found in Eva Luna. Her narrative style in Aphrodite is enjoyable and easy to read, almost like a conversation in the kitchen. I've made the Osso Bucco, Rice Pudding, and Coq au Vin. Beware the Rice Pudding, it will go straight to your thighs (in more ways than one!)!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading all Isabel Allende's books at least twice, I found it hard to believe she could have written Aphrodite, a book with absolutely no substance. At this point ih her career, Allende did not need to sell herself as the "sexy Latina" we see on her book. After the dense and sincere "Paula", "Aphrodite" is nothing more than a bad joke. One of the finest Latin American writers seems to have sold out to the Hollywood stereotype. What a pity! My star goes to the illustrations, much better than the writing itself.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious and arousing.
Review: Allende has created a lighthearted, slyly humorous, and flavorful essay on the relationship between food and sex. The writing is robust, sensual, alluring. There are many recipies designed to provoke lust -- Cream of Artichoke Soup, Pears Roquefort, and Filet Mignon Belle Epoque and all trustworthy and tantalizing concoctions. The book is enhanced by beautiful color drawings and paintings on nearly every page. Its beautifully designed and feels much more expensive than it is. It would be a waste to buy the paperback, so indulge a little in this deliciously written and artfully illustrated book.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Examination Of Food and Life
Review: Allende has created a stunning rumination on life in her new book. And as an added bonus, she's thrown in a pretty good cookbook as well. This book serves as a wonderful counterpoint to Paula. While Paula was about death and it's effects on the human spirit, Aphrodite is about living life to its fullest by savoring what nature gives us. Allende's strength as a writer is in using the powerful emotional connection that she has to the material to create an effective narrative flow. If she doesn't have that emotional connection, she ends up relying on her characters' dialogue, which is definitely not her strong suit (see The Infinite Plan). In Aphrodite, she uses only narrative, which shines with a playfulness and joy that comes from someone who is enjoying the material. I remember attending a lecture where Allende said that after Paula, she thought she would never write again. I'm very glad that rice pudding helped her get over these feelings. This book should be read by everyone so that they may be reminded (as she obviously has been) that it's the simplest pleasures of life that make life worth living.
Rating:
Summary: Food and wine, how sublime...
Review: Allende's newest endeavor speaks volumes about the need to enjoy life through as many senses as possible. Her narrative style and imaginative descriptions make the reader feel sexy in the kitchen and erotic in the dining room. She shows how food, like people, can be comforting as well as sensous. I really enjoyed this book for its playfulness and its success in putting the erotica back into a good meal shared.
Rating:
Summary: This book was too self involved and trite to be enjoyable
Review: Aphrodite was a terrible disappointment to a die-hard Allende fan. The work never captured the reader and was tedious to slog through. Although a wonderful weaver of fiction, Allende latest is a tribute to self involvement and drivel.
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