Book of Love is about a failed author named Henry, an uptight writer who has sold only two copies of his book, The Sensible Heart, and he bought one of them. It’s a romance that leaves sex off its pages, prefers nuance, and talks about inanimate objects.
So, when his book hits number one on the charts in Mexico, he is sent to the great land of tequila and avocados to increase sales with a book tour. He meets Marai, the woman who translated his book into Spanish. She is a passionate single mother who always wanted to be a writer but was limited by circumstances.
Of course, we find out that the book is a hit because she improved it by adding the heat and spice it needed. As tensions grew between them, so did their affection for each other.
By the film’s end, Maria tells Henry something in Spanish despite Maria’s ex-husband trying to come between them. She asks Henry to translate it for her. “I love you,” he says. The romantic comedy ends, and the after-credits scene shows Henry supporting her on a local Mexican talk show to talk about the book she wrote on her own.
Book of Love is a romantic comedy that tries to compromise opposite relationship worlds. Maria feels love is nothing without passion, romance, and heat that generates “dragons” like sex. Henry feels real love is about compatibility when it comes to comfort. It is a different type of romance built on dependability, respect, and admiration. This is why the book was such a huge success.
Without Maria, Henry’s book is all substance, with no flash. Maria turns up the heat but has never had a romance where she respected the other person for being a man of integrity. (This is ironic since Henry seems to never correct any entirely by taking the credit for the book she improved). They write how they view romance, and together, they form a bond of the best of both worlds, like when the worm was dropped into a bottle of fine Tequila.
