This is by far the most unusual romance story I've ever read. Okay, so I've not read many, but still, work with me here.

It's not Mills and Boon, don't panic (though I know that a lot of people like M&B, and I'm not saying it's not good literature, oh stop looking at me like that!). As I was saying, this is a romance novel with a difference. A big difference. Each chapter represents a month of the year, starting with January and working through to the last with December (see the pattern here?). I know that's not a big difference, until you realise that each of the chapters begins with a recipe.

The description of the methods used in cooking each of the dishes is fairly sporadic throughout the book, though it's the methods which start each chapter. The author uses the recipes to immerse us in the world of the main character throughout the whole book. Okay, so who's the main character?

Tita De La Garza is the youngest of three daughters, their home being in Mexico. At the beginning of the book she's a lovestruck teenager. Only when her sweetheart, Pedro Muzquiz, comes to ask her mother for her hand in marriage do they learn that her fate has already been decided. Because Tita is the youngest daughter she must remain unmarried and take care of her mother until the day she dies.

Doesn't sound special yet? Give me a little more time and I'll enlighten you. When Pedro comes to ask for Tita's hand, Mama Elena breaks the bad news to him. He's hardly consoled when instead she offers the middle daughter, Rosaura to him instead. In order to be close to his beloved Tita, he agrees to marry Rosaura. And so the real story begins, and continues for a further 22 years.

The journey Laura Esquivel takes us on is one of culinary delight, mystery and magic, as well as romance. As I said earlier, the recipes serve as a way of understanding the emotions of Tita, right fr
om the moment of her birth. She's happiest in the kitchen with Nacha, the cook, who was the woman who more or less raised her. With every scent in the kitchen the reader is transported to a moment in Tita's life, the details being laid out for us as a kind of explanation as to her emotions. Tita even cries every time an onion is chopped, and I mean really cries. It's nothing unusual for her, she's always done it.

There's a phrase which comes to mind whilst reading, and that is "You are what you eat". It's never been so true as it is in this novel. The magic which unfolds when someone has eaten something Tita has prepared during her own personal turmoil, anger, happiness, etc., brings the magic to this book. For example (and this will be the only one I give)...

... A dish incorporating rose petals is cooked, but during the preparation the thorns cause some of Tita's blood to be mixed into the sauce. Considering the roses came from her beloved too, you can imagine her feelings at the time (I know how I'd feel if hubby ever gave *me* roses). After finishing the dish, everyone is affected, but her sister Gertrudis more than anyone. She is overcome with an amazing heat and tries to cool herself in the shower, which promptly catches fire. When she runs from the shower she's followed by a pink mist smelling sweetly of the rose petals, which finds it's way to a man a few miles away. He, under the spell of the wonderful aroma of the roses, follows it.

Different isn't it? I don't believe I've given anything away in that paragraph, nothing of any real importance. Trust me, there's much more to it. You see, it's magic. Every month there seems to be something magical happens when someone eats a dish that Tita has prepared. Each time the feelings those people go through are mirroring Tita's own emotions, and that's what kept me so enthralled.

The ch
aracters are all well defined here, from the fierce overbearing mother (Mama Elena) to the genuinly kind-hearted doctor (John Smith). But we're not drowning in characters. The author doesn't go for quantity over quality, which means we never lose track of who's doing what, when and why.

It's easy to detest the people we're supposed to, care deeply about the ones we're supposed to, and everything in between. None of the characters are too complex, so we're able to identify with each one without any real effort, much to the authors credit. She also manages to purvey everything without resorting to what I consider to be needless over-the-top imagery. She has a knack of being able to describe everything succinctly without it appearing sharp, and it's refreshing to read.

As is the case with a number of novels (romance in particular), it's not possible to guess what's about to happen. It seemed that in every chapter I was caught by surprise. Okay, so it could simply be that I'm not particularly perceptive, but I don't believe so. There were scenes throughout the book which couldn't have been expected, but the very few there were Esquivel managed to add that little extra which kept me on my toes. She has a knack of turning the story when we least expect it. Even the ending surprised me, and I thought I had it figured out. Well, we can't win them all.

This novel has also been made into a film. I've not seen it and I'm not sure I want to. I've read this book twice now, and both times enjoyed it immensely. I have very definate images of the characters, the 'magic' scenes, everything, and I'm afraid that I really can't imagine any director, however talented, being able to appropriately transfer Esquivel's words onto the screen. I simply don't feel it's possible without losing the charm contained within the pages of the book.

This i
s a truly charming story. It has everything you'd expect from a romance novel, and so much more. I would recommend this to anyone, whether you're attracted by romance or not. I wasn't, and simply read it a couple of years ago because my mum happened to have it on her shelf. I've never regretted it.

It's a story to warm your heart and inspire your soul, and a story which I'm sure you'll never forget.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about the significance of the title, it was originally published as 'Like Water For Hot Chocolate', and it's revealed in chapter 'August'. It's not earth shattering, but it was something that irritated me to bits until I finally read it... what does the title mean??? I know, I know ;P

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Black Swan Books
ISBN 0-552-99587-8