Candy Cane Murder

by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, & Leslie Meier

Three stories involving the Christmas season & candy canes: Candy Cane Murder, The Dangers of Candy Canes, and Candy Canes of Christmas Past.  The first one featured a lying baker, the second a lying freelance writer, and the third a lying mother of a two year old.  I cannot believe anyone loved these stories; they were insipid, silly, and dull.  I kept waiting for anything exciting to happen, but it was the typical "I'm too fat, yet I stuff my face", " I want a real job, and I have a stupid name (Jaine Austen!)", and " I'm a big city girl trapped in a tiny podunk town".  Give me a break!  Plus, each one of them solved their mysteries almost instantly at the end.  I can't believe I read all three.  Thank goodness for 2 good cookie recipes, or I would be really mad at myself right now!

Like Water For Chocolate

A Novel in Monthly Installments, With Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel (translated by Thomas Christensen and Carol Christensen)

Being the youngest, Tita must give up her true love, Pedro, in order to take care of her tyrannical mother.  Pedro marries her sister, Rosaura, to be near Tita, while Tita expresses her joys and sorrows through her cooking.

Hispanic literature is full of fantasy and drama, and this story is no exception.  The reader must suspend belief and understand the culture in order to appreciate this story.  That being said, it is an exceptional tale of broken hearts and rigid obedience, along with a bit of redemption for some of the characters in the end.  If someone doesn't "get" this book, it's probably because they are trying to take these characters out of turn-of-the-century Mexico.  Women needed men for survival.  Also, Latin temperaments are generally hot & mercurial, especially compared to white North Americans.