Customer Reviews

The Law of Love

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

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.

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.

... 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.

Sayers Peden may know Spanish but her knowledge of Mexican Spanish is lacking. I was appalled when I read the original Spanish and saw how much more funny the book is. Plus, she does not do justice to the slang and the musical lyric translations, which there is a lot of. I recommend the book for its philosophy but take into consideration that the original is full of Mexican slang.

I loved this book.

Unlike most of the other readers, I didn't expect the same book as Like Water For Chocolate (which I liked, but not as much as this book). I paid for a new story and that's what I got.

The plot was great. Just great. It takes a lot of skill to work with what are supposed to be just 4 or five main characters but put them in a revolving wheel of time and gender and bodies. Every new twist had me stretching my mind a little bit more to follow Esquivel.

I laughed out loud at some of the poems - and at the characterization of some of the less than heroic characters.

Admittedly, the first chapter or so was jarring and brutal. But it was so, SO worth sticking with the story.

If you want a carbon copy of Like Water For Chocolate - read it again. If you want a new, interesting, innovative, funny, inspiring book - read The Law of Love. I'm still singing its praises over a year later.

When I read the plot description for this book - I was excited about reading something different and unusual. Despite a nice cover and intriguing topic promised, I have found myself listening to the most boring and primitive audio book ever. Hoping to find something good about it towards the end at least I was truly dissapointed. The book is too simple, too plain, too predictable. It reminds me of the story you tell to a child while making things up as you go. When the characters seem to be in trouble, magically something appears to resque them without any additional preview of its existence in the first place. The language is very plain and constant description of something trivial simplifies characters' feelings and thoughts, while they could seem very deep and significant to the reader if done otherwise. There is no magic, just a collection of events full naive of trivia.

I can find nothing of value in this book except perhaps the nice drawings. Since this review is to be less than 1000 words, I cannot hope to list all that I found lacking in the book. I will list a couple of problems, however. First, the book is a poor imitation of the magic realisim genre typified by Garcia Marquez. Second, the characters are as flat as central Illinois. Third, the book contradicts itself in several places (when the author is trying to be serious). Fourth, there is no plot, just a sequence of events. Fifth, the philosophical attempts are poorly done, relying on catch phrases and nice sounding words rather than on substance. Sixth, it shares much with the fairy tales of youth in that nothing bad can ever happen to the characters without some solution dropping out of thin air. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Well, maybe to potential authors to see how not to write a book.

I'm not sure if the translation made it worse, but the novel failed to interest me with language or plot. I love "Like Water for Chocolate" and also enjoyed "Swift as Desire". Though her attempt to bring together the experience of words, music, and visuals was notable, Esquivel was too often rambling rather than poetic. Her characters are largely undeveloped, and except for perhaps the first chapter, we are not convinced of anyone's thoughts or actions. Furthermore, I found the demon's and guardian angel's intrusions into the story particularly bothersome. Overall, I felt this book was a waste of time.

This novel is brilliant in what it attempts to do more than in what it accomplishes. Reading the customer reviews reminds me of a favorite quote from The Urantia Book, "Many intelligent and well-meaning men ... maintain that modern civilization could not have been built upon the teachings of Jesus -- and they are partially right. But all such doubters forget that a much better civilization could have been built upon his teachings, and sometime will be." Esquivel's novel never mentions Jesus, but is filled with angels and spirits who both inhabit and influence the earthly plane. We get so used to considering news headlines with murder and war as reality, that we cannot imagine a world based on "The Law of Love," and so this book seems too fantastic.

To be kind, we English-speakers must realize this is a translated work. I would expect that the choppy writing comes from language change from the original Spanish. The science fiction devices which can print out mental pictures like photographs from plants as well as from past lives intrigued me. This is a great sci-fi detective novel, complicated by past lives, virtual reality television, walls that can speak, and body hopping. You have to give Esquivel A+ for creative imagination.

The use of the pictures was most revolutionary. I looked at them before I read the book and was not overly impressed just as art. But the amazing thing is that when you read the novel, the pictures are not illustrations of things previously described, but pictures of past-life experiences that give you clues and actually further the plot. Remember "a picture is worth a 1,000 words"! We experience the dream-sequence images along with the characters as you read. This was a new and amazing experience for me! The music CD completed the multi-sensory experience. Esquivel is pushing the borders of what it means to read a novel.

All in all, this is a great book for what it attempts to do. Don't attempt it if your mind is TOO SMALL!

The Law of Love is a tremendously original and intriguing read. The multimedia form of the novel, which includes past life illustration sequences that are accompanied by trancendental opera classics and catchy, comical transition music, provides a unique experience and alternate perception of the way a story is told. The tale itself follows the heroine on her journey for a soul mate and explores the interactions of human spirits thoughout time and our karmic influences upon one another. The extra cd component and the illustrations allow time to meditate upon the story and one's own experience which consequently enables one to integrate oneself into the story to some degree. A novel approach to novel writing and spiritual questioning.