The publication of her first novel, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE in 1990 was one of the major literary landmarks of that decade and has been translated into thirty-three languages. In the United States alone it sold more than two million copies and remained on the best-seller list for over a year. The film based on the novel, with a script written by Esquivel herself, won several prizes and was also a tremendous hit at the box-office, and an especially notable success in the U.S.

Her following novels, LA LEY DEL AMOR, TAN VELOZ COMO EL DESEO and MALINCHE, had similar success amongst critics and the public alike and have also been widely translated.