16. Laura Esquivel's first novel, "Like Water for Chocolate" (titled in Spanish "Como agua para chocolate" when published in 1989) focuses on the links between the natural and the supernatural that can be found in which room of the house?
From Quiz It's Never the Llama!
Answer:
kitchen
Each chapter of the book starts with a Mexican recipe, and the explanation of how the dish is prepared is tied in with the events of the life of Tita de la Garza. Tita is 15 at the start of the book, and in love with neighbour Pedro, but she must remain unmarried and stay to care for her parents, as she is the youngest daughter. There are many complications, and the food Tita cooks seems at times to exert a supernatural influence on events. Naturalism vs the supernatural, romance vs tradition, power of the few and powerlessness of the many - a number of themes commonly found in works of magical realism are apparent in this book.
The full title of the book is "Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments With Recipes, Romances and Home Remedies". It may refer to the almost magical change that occurs when hot water is mixed with chocolate to produce a drink of hot chocolate, which is far more than the sum of its two parts.