The Law of Love

by Laura Esquivel 
translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
4 Stars
Science Fiction
Setting: Mexico
266 pages
Published 1995

Ellie's Review
Mexican and Sci-Fi are not too genres I expect to overlap, but they do.  The Law of Love is a unique book because of the genre and also because of the format.  The written novel includes intermissions for songs on the included CD and sections of illustrations.  This uniqueness intrigued me throughout the novel.  I loved actually hearing a song that deeply moved a character rather than simply reading that he/she was moved by music.  The plot itself is also unique, blending Mayan, Catholic, and Eastern beliefs.  I consider this book entertainment (it reminded me of Latin soap operas) and enjoyed it; however, if you are looking for a deeply spiritual book, keep looking.  I’m thoroughly impressed by Esquivel’s creativity and loved her writing style of lines like, “Her teeth chattered like castanets.”

Book Summary

This exuberantly romantic and wildly comic tale from the author of Like Water for Chocolate combines inventive printed fiction with Puccini arias on CD!  When a Mexican astroanalyst in the 23rd century searches her past lives for her lover, she encounters many adventures, including the fall of Montezuma and a plot by a reborn Mother Teresa to rule the planet.  As the music in the CD releases the past lives, you see those reincarnations unfold dramatically in a series of colorful artwork.