- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Crown (Sep 11 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0609608703
- ISBN-13: 978-0609608708
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 14 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,047,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Laura Esquivel's Swift As Desire, an enchanting and sensuous romance, reflects upon an undying love and the will to overcome an unspeakable tragedy. As in her bestselling novel Like Water for Chocolate, Swift As Desire is rich with metaphor, coated with magic, and very much about the power of desire. Júbilo, a telegraph operator blessed (or cursed) with the ability to hear what people feel, radiates joy from his birth. He spends his life mediating for others and salvaging their relationships, until disaster strikes his own life and causes him to question, even loathe, his supernatural gift.
He who knew that no matter how quiet the air was, there were always hearts beating, planets spinning in the heavens, bodies breathing, plants growing; and all producing sounds, but he hadn't heard anything! He hadn't heard anything!
Writing the novel as a tribute to her father (himself, a telegraph operator), Esquivel integrates her belief in the power of words. Swift As Desire is an engaging and enjoyable story that anyone with the slightest interest in a sensually romantic novel will find quite desirable, indeed. --Yvonne Schindler
From Publishers Weekly
The princess of modern Latin literature (second only to Isabel Allende) has written yet another quirky and sensual story with a moralistic twist, its cute-as-can-be characters arguing and loving with equal passion. But Esquivel's fourth novel lacks that certain something that enthralled readers of Like Water for Chocolate. Her writing is choppy, clich‚-laden and has the feel of a translation (no translator is credited). Yet it invokes chuckles and sighs, and if a reader craves more of the sweet wackiness that made the author's first book so appealing, Swift As Desire certainly delivers. Since birth, J£bilo has had a zest for life and an uncanny ability to hear the words in people's hearts before they are able to (or just didn't want to) say them. He puts his talents to good use as a telegraph operator in 1920s Mexico and falls in love with beautiful, wealthy Luz. The couple marries, has children and enjoys a heavenly existence. But something happens during their idyllic life together that drives them apart. Now, their daughter Lluvia is nursing her father as he is bedridden with Parkinson's disease. Before J£bilo dies, Lluvia desperately wants to know the cause of her parents' separation. Through Morse code, she communicates with her father and uncovers the secret nothing juicy, just a sad story that could have been avoided if the lines of communication between husband and wife had been more open. Esquivel's storytelling abilities are in top form here, and, despite its unoriginality, the novel succeeds in conveying a touching message of the power of familial and romantic love.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
great beginning, unremarkable ending,
By A Customer
This review is from: Swift as Desire: A Novel (Hardcover)
the narrative goes on too long that the story is left behind. it's really a shame because it starts out so well. i was so engrossed at the beginning that i expected an even better body and a far greater ending. apparently, though, only the beginning was that good. as for the rest of the story, i don't remember much.i've read like water for chocolate a number of times and am still loving it. i cannot say the same for swift as desire. i would still keep this book because even though the story doesn't really gain momentum, laura esquivel's voice is great as ever. i just wish she could've taken more time in making this story real. it just gave me the impression that she was in a hurry to finish it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A romantic story,
By Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Swift as Desire (Paperback)
I picked this book up because I thoroughly enjoyed Like Water for Chocolate (and the movie) ~~ and while it doesn't compete with her famous novel, this book is a very sweet story. A man has a gift to make everyone around him happy ~~ he is able to discern their discontent and find a way to make them feel better. Only one person who he cannot make happy and that is his wife. Lucha is a Mexican girl who has never known want or hunger. Jubilio tries everything in his power to make her happy and succeeded for many years till a tragedy drove them apart. The story is told from their daughter's point of view ~~ how a man driven to please his woman loses his woman after all ~~ and the secret yearnings of all of our hearts. This is an exquistely-written novel on the heart and love between a man and a woman. And this is also a reflection on a daughter's love for her father ~~ this is a must-read for every daddy's girl. Sometimes you don't realize how blessed you are till something happens. And sometimes it is too late. This is a poignant story and a reminder that life is ever-fleeting. Even though it's not written in the same calibar as Like Water for Chocolate, it is still a lovely tome to add to your library or reading list. Sometimes one needs a small novel to remind us of the important things in life. 10-31-03
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passion, Love and misunderstandings,
By A Customer
This review is from: Swift as Desire: A Novel (Hardcover)
No, this book is not like "Like Water for Chocolate", but then why would you expect it to be. This book was wonderful, I could not put it down. This book has it all.....a little mysticism, some humor, and love and passion. Read between the lines and you will not be disappointed. It tells about how Jubilo is born, how much his grandmother loves him, a little about the culture of Mayan and Spanish. Jubilo falls in love with Lucha, the daughter of a wealthy mexican family. Lucha loves Jubilo also. Their passion goes on for years.....from when Lucha is 13 till they marry. Lucha is feeling such passion for Jubilo that she decides to marry him so they can fullfil their desire. But married life isn't what she expected. They go through many trials and tribulations. Their passion never seems to die. Jubilo works as a telegraph operator......he changes the messages of his customers to help them communicate what they hope to. Lucha is upset that her life isn't fullfilled enough like when she was a little girl living with her parents and had everything she wanted. They have children and somewhere along the storyline......things aren't communicated and life is not as it seems. And the passion seems to die.......or does it??? The story goes back and forth from the present to the past.......telling how Jubilo's daughter is trying to help him to communicate again since he has Parkinson's and is blind. With the help of his friends and her daughter...they do this. What did I get out of this book? The fact that many times we marry young and don't realize what we are getting into. That many times we make assumptions of what the other spouse is thinking, when it isn't that way at all. That if we just accepted life as it were......would we all have the problems we do today? I read Like Water for Chocolate and this book is not like that.......but written in the same manner that Esquivel writes. She writes in a manner for you to think about what you are reading. And her characters are so funny, loving, and entertaining. I can't wait to read her next book.
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