Of the three novels we have read so far, Como agua para chocolate leaves me the most indifferent. In fact, this is the third time I've started this blog, following two aborted attempts at wracking my brain for something clever to say (I thought of posting an entry called Las tetas de Tita on the importance of Tita's breasts, but my better judgement prevailed). I've never spent much time in the kitchen, and Sor Juana Iñes' affirmation that cooking lends itself to philosophical speculations falls on my deaf ears. Nor have I ever actually read a book, besides Eva Luna, that some might place in the 'chick lit' category. In both cases, I'm surprised at how much sex there is. So far, almost nothing 'sticks' with me (apart from the rather appealing image of a naked Gertrude on horseback), and I tend to forget the chapters (recipes) as soon as I read them. This has not been the case for the other two novels we have read. Eva Luna's narrative structure was irritating though the novel did pique my interest with political references, some revolutionary action and a subplot regarding transsexual liberation. I hated The Alchemist as anti-Enlightenment neo-spiritualist nonsense, though if provoking a reaction is one of literature's aims, then on that level it succeeded. In both cases I questioned their authors' good faith: were these novels not conceived of as vaches à alaiter, that is, as cows to be milked for monetary worth, as means of padding bank accounts? I don't get that feeling with Esquivel. She seems sincere and her book is pleasant enough. Located somewhere between good and bad, high and lowbrow, it is totally unoffensive, lacking anything really controversial for me to grasp on to. The word cute comes to mind.
3 comments:
!ja ja! me encanta tu humor :)
estoy completamente de acuerdo; 'como agua para chocolate' es "cute". no me llama ni me inspira ser ni hacer nada. hubo solo momentiquititos en que Esquivel logro llamarme (engage me) y eso paso solo cuando hubo un momento de accion tensa y/o importante o cuando describia algo en una manera muy creativa o poetica -o erotica y fue divertido leer por el momento, nada mas.
ademas de eso, no tiene mucho impacto.
?siento algo por los personajes? bueno, tal vez siento remordimiento (regret) (o frustracion) por Tita y eso es todo; si yo fuera ella yo hubiera huir de la casa de Mama Elena mucho mas temprano, para estar con Pedro. ..pero supongo que eso no hubiera sido 'proper' en los ojos de la sociedad y es probable que no hubiera pasado facilmente.
las mujeres de este libro son demasiadas dependientes/obsesivas de los hombres. y la unica que no es /parece no ser (Mama Elena) toma el papel del hombre. y es muy abusiva. bueno, hay mucho mas que se puede decir/discutir si se acepta la logica del libro pero no puedo hacer eso completamente.
~Rhiannon
I just wanted to say that I totally agree with you here, in that the recipes do not stick. I was talking with a Mexican friend of mine, and she told me that when she read Como Agua para Chocolate, the description of Tita's dishes made her mouth water and and were very meaningful in shaping the book. Perhaps, this book appeals more to Mexican readers? Maybe as a Canadian reader we cannot appreciate the importance of the recipes found in this book. ?? what do you think?
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