Esquivel, Laura (1950–)

Mexican author Laura Esquivel was born in Mexico City on September 30, 1950, the third of four children born to a telegraph operator and his wife. She graduated from the National Teachers' College (Escuela Normal de Maestros) and taught kindergarten. Her writing career began with writing plays for children, followed by writing for children's public television.

Esquivel's first novel, Como agua para Chocolate: Novela de entregas mensuales con recetas, amores, y remedios caseros (1989), became a best seller in Mexico, rare for a novel written by a woman. The story, set on the Mexico-U.S. border from 1910 to 1933, is about love thwarted by imposed traditions and its expression in culinary traditions. It became an internationally acclaimed film, with the screenplay by Esquivel, directed by her then-husband Alfonso Arau. The book, translated into more than thirty languages, has sold more than three million copies worldwide and won awards including the American Booksellers Book of the Year (ABBY) in 1994. Esquivel's other works include La ley del amor (1995), claimed to be the first multimedia novel ever published, which included a CD to be listened to while reading. She is currently married to Javier Valdez, a dentist.

See alsoLiterature: Spanish America .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works by Laura Esquivel

Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies, trans. Carol Christensen and Thomas Christensen. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

The Law of Love, trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. New York: Crown, 1996.

Íntimas suculencias: Tratado filosófico de cocina [Intimate Succulents: Philosophical Treaty of the Kitchen]. Madrid: Ollero & Ramos, 1998.

Between Two Fires: Intimate Writings on Life, Love, Food, and Flavor, trans. Stephen Lytle. New York: Crown, 2000.

Estrellita marinera: Una fábula de nuestro tiempo [Marine Estrellita: A Fable of Our Time]. Madrid: Ollero y Ramos, 1999.

El libro de las emociones: Son de la razón sin corazón [The Book of Emotions: They Are of the Reason Not the Heart]. Barcelona: Plaza & Janés, 2000.

Swift as Desire: A Novel. New York, Crown, 2001.

Malinche. México, D.F.: Alfaguara, 2006.

Critical Studies

López González, Aralia. "Laura Esquivel: Ética y estética del fuego." In Sin imágenes falsas, sin falsos espejos: Narradoras mexicanas del siglo XX, ed. Aralia López. México, D.F.: Colegio de México, Programa Interdisciplinario de Estudios de la Mujer, 1995.

                                             Clair Joysmith