Today Chelsey and Sara are kicking off Women in Translation Month by discussing Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. This romantic, sensuous novel was so much fun to discuss, and our pairings include some of our absolute favorite books! We can’t wait to hear what you think of these pairings.

Our discussion includes:

Esquivel’s stunning use of food as a conduit for emotion, passion, and tension [11:10]
Celebrating passion and different types of love [15:30]
Rooting for Tita! [19:03]
Structure and expanding the coming of age category [23:54]

Plus, as always, we’re recommending six contemporary books to pair with our classic, including a novel in verse and another classic in translation.

We avoided spoilers in this episode, so feel free to listen before or after reading in order to enhance your reading experience.

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Shop the pairings: https://bookshop.org/lists/novel-pairings-for-like-water-for-chocolate

A Burning by Mehga Majumdar

Beheld by Tarashea Nesbitt

Chelsey’s Pairings:

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera [39:00]

The Virgin and the Rogue by Sophie Jordan [45:10]

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo [52:13]

Sara’s Pairings:

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez [34:12]

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev [42:13]

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende [48:26]

Picks of the Week:

@thedefineddish “Pass the Dish” series

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

22. Like Water for Chocolate and mouth-watering fiction books about food, cooking, and romance

Novel Pairings