Finalists for the 1992-1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes : ART SEIDENBAUM AWARD FOR FIRST FICTION

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel, translation by Carol and Thomas Christenson (Doubleday). Although a bestseller in Mexico three years ago, this bittersweet, lushly sensuous tale of thwarted love was only initially published in the U.S. in 1992. Charming in much the same way as Whitney Otto’s prose quilt, “How to Make An American Quilt” (an L.A. Times Book Prize finalist in 1991), Esquivel’s turn-of-the-century story set in Mexico evokes the transformative power of magical realism to break the bonds of oppressive tradition.

The Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists and winners are selected in each category by an independent panel of judges. Winners will be announced in the Book Review issue of October 31.