Reviews

I got this because I love love love Like Water For Chocolate. Like all the other reviewers, right? Because sadly, this book doesn’t really have much merit by itself.

Reading half a page of a summary would have sufficed. It just didn't work for me and I can’t picture a person for whom it might would.

Nothing really happens, it’s just ~200 pages long because it’s really slow and repetitive. The love story is outdated and won’t work for modern audiences. There were very few redeeming moments, but it’s still a miss and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Sadly! I wanted to love this so much.

Content Warnings

anke_books's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Het is een aandoenlijk verhaal van een oude dementerende man, vertelt vanuit het oogpunt van zijn dochter, die alleen nog via de telegraaf met hem kan communiceren. Haar ouders zijn vervreemd van elkaar en wonen al jaren niet meer samen. Langzaam ontvouwt de geschiedenis zich en blijkt het allemaal net wat anders te zitten dan ik dacht. Vooral de verkeerde interpretaties van Jubilo en Lucha worden door de alwetende verteller duidelijk gemaakt.
Maar ook krijgen we dan weer in een inkijkje in de gedachten van Jubilo en dan weer in de gedachten van Lucha, wat het verhaal een extra dimensie geeft. Ook omdat je soms dezelfde scène vanuit verschillende perspectieven te lezen krijgt. De gedachtegangen waren geloofwaardig en soms ook wat hilarisch. Deze auteur blijft toch interessante ideeën over seksualiteit weergeven

cmjustice's review against another edition

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5.0

Sweet and quirky tale

apechild's review against another edition

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2.0

2006 Bookcrossing comments

It's been a couple of years since I read this one actually. And whilst it is a reasonable read, I didn't like it as much as Like Water for Chocolate, and I don't feel that it's one I'm going to want to keep forever and ever. Whereas Like Water for Chocolate was original in the way it was told through the recipes, this is just your usual kind of romantic story.

It does actually give a fair picture of the two parents and explain how they see things, rather than just painting the wife as money obsessed and the husband as a free spirit.

The pair end up spliting and not talking to each other for decades, but not moving on either, and that did seem like such a waste of life.

artistandthecity's review against another edition

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2.0

I really, really wanted to like this. But unfortunately I didn't think Esquivel's way of writing suited this story. Too much telling, not enough showing. I know, a super cliche critique, but I didn't like being told of the character traits. It just felt sort of lazy.

I could get past that, but this book made me roll my eyes on more than one occasion because of the misogyny throughout.

There was an obvious favoring of Jubilo, even when he made bad decisions. There was less sensitivity towards Lucha even though she went through just as much as Jubilo. And I didn't appreciate Jubilo speaking of Lucha like she was his property. Just too old-fashioned and I want more out of my relationship dynamics than this.

Here's to less misogyny in 2017 and on in our fiction.

fefifofum's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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