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Pears on a Willow Tree
Pears on a Willow Tree is a multigenerational roadmap of love and hate, distance and closeness, and the lure of roots that both bind and sustain us all.
The Marchewka women are inseparable. They relish the joys of family gatherings; from preparing traditional holiday meals to organizing a wedding in which each of them is given a specific task -- whether it's sewing the brid...more
The Marchewka women are inseparable. They relish the joys of family gatherings; from preparing traditional holiday meals to organizing a wedding in which each of them is given a specific task -- whether it's sewing the brid...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
July 1st 1999
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1998)
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Whenever Amy asked an impossible question or wanted something impossible, her grandmother always replied, “Amy, you’re always looking for pears on a willow tree.” This is the story of four generations of Polish women in Detroit and how they slowly drift away from their Polish customs until Amy, the youngest, returns to put her grandmother’s house in order, and realizes that it has been too easy to discard too much of the past. Amy’s mother, Ginger, couldn’t wait as a teenager to get out from un...more
I picked this up at the library, didn't know anything about it. I began and was having a hard time getting into it. However, I pushed along and am so glad that I did. The story is about 4 generations of women who are of polish decent and their challenges. Their challenges are mainly brought out by their similarites (though they try not to admit it) and differences. Their unique history was truly enthraling and I found myself wishing my ancestry was more singular. One main character Ginger, is an...more
A really touching novel about four Polish-American women and their family connection. Each chapter is written from a different woman’s perspective and not in chronological order so at times I had to check and make sure if I had all the facts straight. One of my favorite parts was when the grandmother was a young girl she met a man the day before she was going to get married and they had one kiss. She said at the end of the chapter that if she had a daughter she wanted her to be good, kind, intel...more
I hated to see this book end! (Though the ending was perfect).
Pietrzyk's novel is a series of interrelated short stories, reading almost like diary entries or brief memoirs, told by four generations of women from the same Polish-American family. You don't have to be Polish to appreciate the humanity behind the relationships and cultural similarities and differences between these women. Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins . . . all linked by the same chain of love and dislike.
Fam...more
Pietrzyk's novel is a series of interrelated short stories, reading almost like diary entries or brief memoirs, told by four generations of women from the same Polish-American family. You don't have to be Polish to appreciate the humanity behind the relationships and cultural similarities and differences between these women. Grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins . . . all linked by the same chain of love and dislike.
Fam...more
My cousin gave me this book for my birthday. She believed that the themes of family, and female bonding would ring true to our own family which has 9 female cousins. It's not a horrible book, but it's very predictable in it's "shockers." I think the author developed the history of the older generations fairly well. But I sense she tired of the story at some point in time and decided to throw in the shockers, which were not as shocking as poorly timed. It features a weak, whiny, main character, a...more
From Rose, the immigrant from Poland, to Amy, her great granddaughter who goes to teach English in Thailand, the four women--mothers and daughters--interact and leave little hints of their lives for the reader to react to.
I really enjoyed this story of mothers who want to hold on and daughters who need to leave. The sharing of recipes, stories, and hints for managing life were much like I remember the sessions with my mother, aunts, grandmother, and great aunts.
I really enjoyed this story of mothers who want to hold on and daughters who need to leave. The sharing of recipes, stories, and hints for managing life were much like I remember the sessions with my mother, aunts, grandmother, and great aunts.
I read this one for my book club and one member disliked it due to the alcoholism. As a child of an alcoholic, I think that made it real for me. I also enjoyed the story of women and traditions and the way they seem to be dying out as my own generation comes of age. I enjoyed the characters and thought this book was just quite lovely.
Pretty good story of a Polish immigrant who ends up in Detroit, her daughters, especially one who dislikes the Polish/American culture and the daughter of this lady. Pretty sad overall because of the one daughter who moves out of the culture and becomes an alcoholic. In many ways, it's a sweet story though. I'm glad that I read it.
Polish generations,I loved it.I love reading about 4 or more generations,their trials and tribulations,always so many stories,and each generation and their changes.I am a grandmother,hopefully live to be a great-grandmother,and I see all the chages,from My Grandparents,up through my grands,ages16- 14 &6 yrs.old. Wow.
Pears on a willow tree - always wanting what you can't have. A great read that spans several generations of women from the older generation not born in America to the youngest woman in the family that only knows America. I need to go read this one again. :)
This is a wonderful novel about a multigenerational Polish family (could be any central European family I suppose), highlighting the clash of traditions and values. Was really helpful to me in understanding my family.
I didn't exactly enjoy reading this exploration of the mother-daughter bond/struggle that meanders its way through the lives of four women linked in a mother daughter chain that ends with the fifth, a young daughter. I found the sections to be a little choppy--each woman gets several chances to narrate, and I was often a bit unsure as to exactly which time period I was reading about--but the repetition of the "roots" vs "wings" conflict in each generation was reasonably compelling. I felt a lot...more
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I read this last weekend and loved it. The characters were strong, interesting, and funny. Their stories were every mother's or every daughter's story in one way or another. I definitely recommend it.
This was a book that Good Reads recommended per what was on my 2012 bookshelf. I liked the concept of the book, immigrants in Detroit and the mulch-generational family. While I think some of the chapters were very well written, I felt that they were far too disjointed to be considered a novel, rather than a collection of stories.... Some of them she had published separately at one time as stories in various publications. While together there was far too much overlap to have it pass as acceptable...more
A good perspective of a Polish immigrant family who settled Detroit. Told from the mother, daughters & granddaughter's perspective. A bit of a "downer" for me though.
Well-written inter-generational story about a Polish-American family. Each chapter narrated by a different family member (all women).
I liked the traditions of the Polish women in this book. It helped me to understand some of my Polish girlfriends more...
This book was good enough, but I had a hard time liking one of the main characters, Ginger, which tends to influence my overall feeling about the book. I didn't relate very well to her struggles and just wanted her to grow up and get over it. It's in the same category as "The Deep End of the Ocean" for me. Interesting story but I can't fully embrace it because of my dislike for a character.
I loved this book because I could really relate to the characters. It takes place partly in an old polish neighborhood in Detroit. I loved the sounds and smells that the author evoked of great family and food in a time period that I was also familiar with. It was like comfort food on a rainy day for me.
Interesting look into Polish heritage and family dynamics. I enjoyed reading about the changes from generation to generation. I also loved the passing on of traditions.
I thought it would be a multi-generational book about Polish women, al la Amy Tan. But it turned out to be about a daughter dealing with her mother's alcoholism. Cautionary, I suppose, but not escapist.
Simple easy read about family, alcholism, and who we really are!
Happy Bookers - April 2000
This book was actually written by my cousin and although there are a lot of stories in it that bring me memories of my family, many women that I know that have read it said it brought back a lot of family memories for them as well. This is a book about the binding of women in a family and the different dynamics that they bring to the mix. It shares traditions and delves into the uniqueness of the different family members and how the fit as a whole as well as together.
I mainly read this book because it was about 4 generations of a Polish American family and it lined up with my family-the 1st generation came over from Poland, as in my family- my great-grandmother came here from Poland. It was set in Detroit, my family is from Pittsburgh, and mainly focuses on the granddaughter and how and why she left Detroit and about returning with her family in the summer. The last few chapters I struggled to get through but overall the book was ok.
2001-All i can say is that it was much better than expected! it centered around family of strong women, starting 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 chronological order and each was told by a different woman made the book even more special.
A fascinating multigenerational story of Mothers and daughters, relationships. Each generation writes in first person and chapters flip from one to the other so sometimes, makes it a bit confusing to follow . But over all enjoyed. Particularly loved all the Phoenix references to Camelback Mtn, South Mtn, spring training and such.
A beautifully written novel about 4 generations of women in a Polish-American family. The prose in clean and elegant. The family is familiar and real. I didn't want the book to end.
I am enjoying this book, but there is one character that I don't like. Generally, though, it is a good story about an immigrant family through the daughter's lives.
Feb 17, 2008
Kristi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
women, book clubs
Recommended to Kristi by:
Lesley Van Doorne
I read this one years ago, but think of it whenever I meet a Polish woman. The story covers four generations of Polish-American women, but rings true for women anywhere.
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