FICTION

THE LAW OF LOVE by Laura Esquivel, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden (Crown: $25, 288 pp.). It was only a matter of time--the arrival of the first spare-no-expense, New Age, multimedia novel. Is it ghastly? Surprisingly, no: Laura Esquivel, who charmed the world with “Like Water for Chocolate” in 1991, makes the doubtful combination work, largely by drawing on Mexican cultural touchstones. “The Law of Love” begins with Cortis’ 1520’s destruction of Tenochtitl’n (Mexico City), personified by conquistador Rodrigo’s raping of an Aztec noblewoman, Citlali. A novel of revenge seems in the making--but not as one expects, for it takes place over 14,000 generations, involves space travel and soul transplants, talking flowers and irrepressible pyramids, with the entire operation overseen by guardian angels and destructive demons.

The novel comes with an 11-song compact disc (Mexican danzones and selections from Puccini) and several multi-page graphical inserts of various characters’ photomentals (illustrations by Miguelanxo Prado), and they are more than gimmicks, providing both respite from and perspective upon Esquivel’s occasionally cartoonish narrative. “The Law of Love” is sui generis--and should remain so, for in the final analysis it’s the novel’s novelty that allows readers to overlook Esquivel’s melodramatic tendencies and fully enjoy her romantic ambition and imaginative vision.