The Law of Love [Paperback]

Laura Esquivel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1997

This romantic, innovative, and wildly comic New York Times bestseller by the author of Like Water for Chocolate tells a cosmic love story, a Mexican Midsummer Night's Dream that stretches from the fall of Montezuma's Mexico to the 23rd century. Includes eight sections of full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel leapt to international fame in 1993 with Like Water For Chocolate. Her new novel strives to replicate the impact of that work with multimedia innovation in style and structure. This translation by Margaret Sayers Peden comes with a CD of arias by Puccini and Mexican danzones, and 48 pages of striking color illustrations by Spanish artist Miguelano Prado. The text by Esquivel is part science fiction, part new age spiritual journey, as she chronicles the efforts of 23rd century "astroanalyst" Azucena to find her twin soul. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Publishers Weekly

This followup to Esquivel's bestselling Like Water for Chocolate is propelled by the same jolly, reckless storytelling energy that has won the Mexican author so many fans, but skimpy character development and a breathlessly byzantine plot keep bringing the novel up short. Composed in a tantalizing style of New Age-sci-fi-magical realism, the tale is set in the year 2200, when astroanalyst Azucena Martinez, who lives in Mexico City, has been permitted at last to meet her twin soul, Rodrigo Sanchez, the man with whom she is to experience the ecstasy of perfect romantic union. And not a moment too soon; not only is Azucena terribly lonely, but she has finally paid off all the karmic debts accumulated in her 14,000 past lives. Alas for her, Rodrigo is not as karmically pure, and the day after their night of bliss, he is framed for murder and deported to the penal planet of Korma. As it turns out, this is all part of a divine plan: Azucena's quest to be reunited with her lover sets in motion a chain of events that will lead to the restoration of the law of Love on planet Earth. Esquivel punctuates her narrative with full-color "graphic novel" segments (by Spanish artist Miguelanxo Prado). The book also includes an 11-track CD of Puccini arias that figure in the plot and some remarkable Mexican "danzones," billed in the text as "Intervals for Dancing." In Azucena, Esquivel has created a delightfully feisty, unpretentious character; it is the reader's loss that neither she nor Rodrigo are ever fully developed, and that their love story is repeatedly upstaged by a fantastical setting and long-winded metaphysical discourse. First serial to L.A. Times Magazine.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (September 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609801279
• ISBN-13: 978-0609801277
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #940,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Esquivel is the award-winning author of Like Water for Chocolate, which has sold over four and a half million copies around the world in 35 languages, The Law of Love, and most recently, Between Two Fires. She lives in Mexico City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Talented author takes big risks with inventive format., September 30, 2001

By 

Chicago Dreamer "chicagodreamer" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Law of Love (Paperback)

It isn't so easy to understand Love. Usually people think they find it through a partner. But the love we experience while making love with another is only a pale reflection of what is truly Love. One's partner is only the intermediary through whom we receive Divine Love. Through the kiss, the embrace, the soul receives all the peace necessary to align itself and make the connection with Divine Love. But be warned: that does not mean that our partner possesses that Love, nor is he or she the only one who can bestow it. Nor is it true that if that person leaves, he will take Love with him, leaving us unprotected. Divine Love is infinite. It is everywhere and entirely within reach at every moment. It is foolish of Azucena to limit it to the small space of Rodrigo's arms. If she only realized that all she has to do is learn to open her consciousness to energy on other planes to receive the Love she needs in full store. If she only realized that at this very moment she is surrounded by Love, that it is circulating about her, despite the fact no one is kissing or caressing or embracing her. If she only realized that she is a beloved daughter of the Universe, she would no longer feel lost. -Laura Esquivel

This is a very creative multimedia book, complete with a CD, in which the reader is directed to explore richly illustrated passages by Migualanxo Prado of Spain, while listening musical selections on the CD. Arias correspond to the illustrations, and Mexican folk music entertains during some of the intermissions. The plot criss-crosses backwards and forwards through time, involving a set of characters whose interactions thread the work together. The experience of discovering the threads while experiencing the illustrations and listening to the beautiful arias is an otherworldly experience in itself. Be sure to listen to the CD and give the illustrations more than a passing glance -- that's part of the pleasure of this book.

After this author's first novel, just seeing her name as the author of another is enough to raise one's expectations very, very high. This book is diminished in comparison to her first (Like Water For Chocolate). However, this is not to say that this second novel is bad -- far from it. It just does not reach the heights of greatness as does the first work.

Esquivel takes risks, and speaks about eternal subjects for discovery such as love, lust for power, materialism, revenge, violence, hatred. All of these subjects, which I never tire of exploring, are woven into a work with a fresh new perspective, and the experience of this new format adds to the enjoyment of this lovely work. Recommended.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Colourful Book filled with Delights, January 30, 2000

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Law of Love (Paperback)

Okay so I am sucker for a soppy book every now and then! I liked this book; it was exciting, sad, funny and charming. I liked the idea of reincarnation and the fact that what you do in your past lives, affects you in your present life. That is the theme of the book and yes the storyline does jump about a bit but hey! that makes it all the more enjoyable, you never know what is going to happen next, which for some people can be annoying but for me was great! I also loved the fact it included a CD with lots of classical music, something to listen to when reading. Also the colour photos were a nice touch too, and gave a stronger sense of what was happening throughout the novel. Laura Esquivel has written another of my favourite books, "Like Water for Chocolate," and she has not let me down with "The Law of Love." This book is enjoyable simply because it is a fantasy. Read it for that reason alone, and you will enjoy it all the more. It's a treat of a book and the CD is great too.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A near-future Mexican multi-media action-romance novel ..., December 29, 2000

By 

R. Byrd "byrdie" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Law of Love (Hardcover)

... about karmic justice and divine love. Complete with angels and demons. There. Did I get your attenion? :)

"The Law of Love" is an incredibly ambitious project by the author of "Like Water for Chocolate," and is almost worth it for the light it sheds on her previous work. I've heard people write off Laura Esquivel as an author of "chick books" -- the marketing assumption being that if you add recipes, more women will read them.

I felt the theme of kitchen witchery was a little too strong in "Chocolate" to ignore ... but "Law" gives a much clearer picture. Esquivel seems to be fascinated by the idea of memory recall through sensory stimulation. In "Chocolate," the stimulation was food. In "Law," it's music.

Included with the hardback was a CD of Mexican music. I didn't much like it, but it is indeed meant to be played at certain times in the book where memories will be crucial. Also, during points in the book where a character undergoes a past-life recall, the pages switch to unnarrated, very dreamily painted comics -- the regression is only mulled over in words as sort of an afterthought.

Again, incredibly ambitious. Unfortunately, considering the scope, I didn't find it terribly well done. Which is too bad, because I really wanted to *love* this book. At best, I just like it.

The characters go from being intelligent people who are jerked around by circumstance to lovable, zany characters fumbling around with forces some of them might barely comprehend. The ending is a very Monte Hall, "let's show 'em what's behind Door Number Three!" affair. I question whether it could have gone any other way, but I feel that the fact that I was distanced enough from the book to be paying more attention to the style of the ending than caring if the story had progressed is rather telling of the book's style.

I could picture the director of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" making "Law" into a movie (most likely starring Antonio Bandaras as either the main love interest or the guardian angel) -- that's how weird the story became.

And yet, this book gave me a lot to think about. I feel that if Esquivel can't consistently deliver stories the calibur of "Like Water for Chocolate," it's at least fascinating to watch her take risks with novels like "The Law of Love." Did she take on too much? Possibly. But I don't feel that it was a wasted effort. I just feel that it could have been a better story.