Think you’ve had some transformational food experiences? Wait ‘til you see what happens to Tita and Pedro, one of the great love stories in literature, in the FoodShed Summer Reading Pick of the Week, Like Water for Chocolate.
A truly delectable book that can be whipped through in two to three uninterrupted hours on a hot summer afternoon, Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel, tells the story of a Mexican family through “recipes, romances and home remedies,” as it says on the cover. Each chapter kicks off, ever so innocently, with descriptions of recipes, from quail in rose petal sauce to turkey mole with almonds and sesame seeds, ox-tail soup to chiles in walnut sauce. Yet the recipes somehow end up containing the longings and sorrows of the intertwined web of characters as life-altering seasonings that lead to scenes that transcend reality. There is even a recipe for matches, which leads to one of my favorite metaphors of all time, how each of us is born with a box of matches inside of us that either gets ignited, one match at a time, through the passions of our lives, or gets extinguished. Forever.
And so, of course, I wonder. How many matches of mine have been lit, and how many do I have left? And what will it take to ignite them? How about you?
Yes, I know the movie of the same name is wonderful, but trust me, after reading this book three times in my life, I can honestly say there is no comparison to what your own mind will visualize when you read it.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment