Pears on a Willow Tree

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Summary: Additional reviews for PEARS ON A WILLOW TREE
Review: "'Pears on a Willow Tree' marks the debut of a genuine and fully developed talent with a most promising future. It is a rich, intricate, heartfelt novel that moves with a smoothness and sureness many experienced novelists will envy, a book that breaks through the crust of expectation and stereotype and gives us a sweating, crying, shouting, laughing group of women struggling to preserve and pass on that most precious of old family recipes: love." -Washington Post Book World "Reading this novel is like leafing through a family photo album except that, once you pick up this book, it's hard to put down." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Summary: A must read. Discover what it means to be a woman & yourself
Review: Akin to the stories about women and family and culture by Amy Tan, this book tells the story of self discovery, of roles we play and of Polish Culture. Books like this leave you changed. Knowing yourself a little more, maybe even a little less but intent on discovery. My thanks to the author.

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Summary: a mixture of emotions
Review: all i can say is that it was much better than expected! it centered around family of strong women, staring with immigrant Rose, then her daughter Helen, then Helen's daughter Ginger, and finally, Ginger's daughter Amy. the fact that the stories did not go into chronlogical order and each was told by a different woman made the book even more special.

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Summary: A remarkably good read
Review: I had looked forward to reading _Pears on a Willow Tree_ because previously I had read a number of Leslie Pietrzyk's short stories and found them most impressive. Apparently I'm not alone; an AltaVista search on her name reveals she's won several awards. I don't follow the current literary scene enough to know what they mean; but, awards aside, any direct reading of Ms. Pietrzyk's stories will tell you immediately that something remarkable is going on. She simply has imagination to an extraordinary degree, in the old -fashioned Keatsian "negative capability" in their voices in an amazing range of situations. (How truly refreshing this is in an age of personal memoirs that cannot get two paragraphs beyond "I" and "me" . . .) The people of her stories, male and female, young and old, are wonderfully rounded; and their interrelationships are believable, insightful, and yet continually surprising--but surprising in a way that, in retrospect, seems perfectly in keeping with their different characters. One small example among dozens to be found in _Pears_ concerns the matriarch of the four generations of Polish women sketched in the book. Her name is Rose; she is the immigrant who sets (or rather passes on) the psychic and spiritual "boundaries" that do deeply influence the next three generations. (Her daughter Helen yearns for a freedom beyond Rose's bounds but comes, in a surprising [again, that word!] way to create a kind of enlarged imaginative space within them. Helen's daughter Ginger physically breaks free of the family's Polish Detroit neighborhood but winds up living a rebellious and alcoholic anti-script as ironbound in its limits as the traditions she tries to reject. And Ginger's daughter Amy brings the story full circle by ringing a change on one of her great-grandmother's stories from the old country--a "legend" that rings so true I was astonished to learn that Pietrzyk had made the whole thing up!) Anyway, folk beliefs and prejudices, seems, to Helen and Ginger, to be the archetype of conservative old ways--but Pietrzyk gives us a window into her character showing a depth and complexity that is once again truly surprsing and yet nonetheless perfectly fitting. There is a passage from _Pears_ in a section entitled "Things Women Know"; the subtitle section here is "Helen," but, in context, it is a narration by Rose herself. What is striking about this section is that so much is values, the inevitable human nature that would exploit others for selfish, base purposes--and the very non-inevitable and character-revealing choice Rose makes to put the needs of her family above personal humiliation. There is even a suggestion that this choice has its own roots in a prior generation's similar choice. None of this is stated; none of it is spelled out; all of it is conveyed between the lines. Reading Pietrzyk is the literary equivalent of watching a good close-up magician at work; the effect is unavoidable and yet it's impossible to pin down just how she does it. Pietrzyk writes literature in the best sense of the word--imaginative, insightful, dramatic rather than assertive, and revelatory of the complexities of human nature in times and places beyond our own experience. Don't judge this book by the inadequacy of this review of it. Treat yourself directly to _Pears on a Willow Tree_

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Summary: This one is highly recommended!
Review: I just finished reading Pears on a Willow Tree, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature that's fun to read. Pears on a Willow Tree is about four generations of Polish American women, but it's not just about being polish or being a woman. It's about life, the American experience, and the importance of lasting cultural traditions.

The book opens with one of the characters remembering an earlier time when her grandfather photographed her with her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. From there, each subsequent chapter itself is snapshot of family history from the intimate perspectives of each character. I was pleasantly surprised with this unique organizational style. Its creativity kept my interest to the very end.

Ms. Pietrzyk gently guides the reader through a narrative that addresses the challenges that life has in store for us all: growing up, getting old, and dealing with the loss of a loved one. This novel reminded me about what's really important in life.

I think this book is well worth the time, and it may one day take its place as a classic in American literature.

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Summary: Totally absorbing from the first page to the last.
Review: I loved this book. I loved the themes of the continuity of four generations of women, of how the homeland's culture does and does not get carried on in America, the misunderstandings among generations where you, with the insight of the reader/onlooker, can better understand the emotions of the characters than they themselves might. She is a wonderful author who has created a little gem of a book.

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Summary: A family story.
Review: I recommend this book for women who have struggled with their relationship with their mothers & their "feminine" heritage. That pretty much covers all women doesn't it? The story is scattered at times, as voices from differents times and eras appear and reappear. Once you detect the rhythym, it's a lovely book. Not all the characters are likeable. The men are 2 dimensional or invisible. The sadness can be overwhelming. But, Ms.Pietrzky gripped the core of my connection with my family (a fairly non-ethnic group) and forced me to examine feelings I like to ignore. I hope other readers have the same response. The book is worth your time.

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Summary: An Unexpected Gem
Review: I stumbled upon this book doing a search in Amazon.com. It covers multi-generational ties and conflicts of mothers and daughters, Polish-American culture, and the changes throughout the generations. It was a delight to read and I've passed it along to my daughter to read. I'm sure she'll find much to compare with her 3rd generation Polish-American experience. Well done, Leslie Pietrzyk. Keep them coming.

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Summary: Almost like a Polish "Joy Luck Club"
Review: I was very excited to have bought this book as I have never seen any other books that have the same subject...not many people write about Polish people in fiction. Being Polish-American myself, I certainly could relate and appreciate this novel. I highly recommend this novel as I enjoyed reading about the cultural aspects and the importance of family and how much you can miss a person once they are gone. This book is certainly worth your time!

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Summary: A moving and well written story of family and tradition.
Review: I was very impressed with Leslie Pietrzyk's Pears On A Willow Tree. It is a story of several generations of women from a Polish-Ameican family but it could just as well have been about people from almost any immigrant culture. The book is well written, well paced, and a joy to read. I read it in two evenings because I wanted to see how things turned out. Ms. Pietrzyk has a very good sense of dialouge and an economical style that adds to the enjoyment of the book. The characters and their relationships are real and well developed. Almost everyone I have talked to who has read the book said that they were reminded of their own family experiences. In that sense Ms. Pietrzyk has capture something universal. I hesitate to say more because I don't want to give away any of the story. Buy the book. You won't be disappointed.