Ever since her debut novel “Like Water for Chocolate” (1989), Laura Esquivel has entranced the world with her immaculate magical realism – an intensely sensual work of art that explores in the most indigenous of fashions the intertwining universes of food, passion and heartbreak. For more than 20 years now, she is heralded as the most famous and celebrated Mexican writer of her generation, a startling commercial success that once again affirms the crucial place of women in contemporary literature, challenges the borders of globalization and multiculturalism and develops a sophisticated taste for the exotic and the culturally idiosyncratic. After the release of the film version in 1992, “Like Water for Chocolate” became internationally known and loved. The book has sold more than 4.5 million copies. Esquivel has continued to show her creative flair and lyrical style in her later work. Accompanied by a collection of music, her second novel “The Law of Love” (1996) combined romance and science fiction. “Between the Fires” (2000) featured essays on life, love, and food and “Malinche” (2006), explores the life of a near mythic figure in Mexican history.