What I Liked
I read this book as an assignment and had no idea what it was about or what to expect. I began to read while making dinner, holding the book in my left hand while cooking tilapia with my right. Now I laugh at the irony of it all.

Like Water for Chocolate contained memorable stories that I will not forget for quite a long time.

Spoiler

Gertrudis running away from home while making love with a man on the back of a galloping horse, for example.

I love the concept of Tita's emotions being so strong and so passionate that they alter the world around her through the food she makes. I love the strength of the women in this novel, and I was captivated by the magical realism throughout.

What I Didn't Like
There was a fairy tale element to Water for Chocolate, so much so that it often seemed too simple and childlike for my tastes. When Tita cried so long that her tears created a stream of water, my heart did not break for her. I felt alienated by many of her intensely emotional experiences.

Pedro drove me mad throughout the entire book. An incredibly passive, selfish, and weak-willed character. I liked him less than Mama Elena, who had meaning in her life and a strong will, despite her cruelty and violence.

The ending veered so dramatically into the realm of magic and legend that I disassociated with the story completely.

Spoiler

Perhaps I never connected with the love between Tita and Pedro enough for me to understand why she didn't move onto her lingering love with John after Pedro's passionate death. I never quite understood John's purpose in the story at all.

There were many beautiful aspects to this story, but it fell a little flat for me, particularly towards the end.