TESSIE AND PEARLIE: A Granddaughter's Story

by Joy Horowitz

In Tessie and A Granddaughter's story, journalist Joy Horowitz undertakes what turns out to be the most inspiring assignment of her life - spending time alone with her two Jewish grandmothers, Tessie and Pearlie, who are in their nineties. They are her heroes and her guides into old age. She chronicles their past and present and learns a little Yiddish along the way, keeping the continuum alive by offering a beautifully written celebration of family, passion, and Jewish cooking.
Tessie and Pearlie are very different but remarkably similar. Tessie strictly observes Jewish ritual; Pearlie believes that religion resides in the heart. Like the matriarchs of the Old Testament, they have become nearly invisible to the outside world. But as keepers of the family legacy, they maintain their power through longevity. And Joy discovers that their lives are proof that sometimes there are men around and sometimes not, but life goes on either way.
From the beauty parlor to the conga line, from latkes frying in the kitchen to a trip back to Ellis Island, Tessie and Pearlie teach us about living. And dying. Still close to their immigrant past and hardened by wars and the Depression and discrimination against Jews that began to dissipate only in the 1950s, they are the last of a breed - a generation passing but not likely to be forgotten.
Here, two bubbes share their wisdom, knowledge, and recipes to die for. And their granddaughter asks questions of them others wouldn't dare mention, about sex, love, and motherhood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Jewish

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Joy Horowitz is a writer living in Cambridge, MA and a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books. She currently is a senior lecturer in Yale's Residential College Seminar Program.

Reviews

[Mary K · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, the good stuff: I think the bubbes are adorable, I’m happy that another story is preserved in Jewish history, and I think Horowitz had a good story that she could have written well. The problem is that she didn’t. I’m sure including her questionnaire that she gave her grandmothers was intended as a literary device but it was a poor one; for me, it’s the mark of a lazy writer. There was also WAY too much material that Horowitz should have saved for her keepsake box. So great bubbes and great material, but strung together poorly.

[Poiema · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joy Horowitz wrote this book about her 2 Jewish Grandmothers, after extensively interviewing them and plumbing the depths of their history. Both were born about 1900 and were in their 90s at the time the book was published. I was interested because my own Grandmothers were born in 1900 also---but oh how different their lives were! My Grands were from rural Iowa, whereas Tessie and Pearlie spent most of their lives in New York.

It is obvious this book was a labor of love, a preservation of the colorful history of immigrants, the struggle for a living, the melding of cultures. It did not read like a story; rather she toggled back and forth between the two women in rather disjointed segments. Besides the watershed life events: immigrating, deaths, marriages, and even abortions (!)---the author included a lot of minutiae. Dove soap. Hair appointments. Recipes. Medications. Pretty anticlimactic after all they had lived through!

While I enjoyed the book, I found the wisdom that JH attempted to glean from her elders to be a little disappointing. Their Jewishness seemed more cultural than spiritual and they seemed not to have any hope or security beyond their daily existence. Still, they had a rich love for family and strong sense of duty to the end. I respected them but felt sad for them, too.

I happened across this book at a thrift store and picked it up by serendipity. I find that when I do that I read titles that I would never intentionally scout out. Some are winners and some, like this one, are forgettable. Forgettable perhaps to me, but to the author a treasured part of her personal history and I respect that.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really care for this book. I felt like a lot of the stories about her grandmothers were repeated, although it was a nice tribute to them.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to read the lives and thoughts of these two women. The times they grew through and their families reflect times never to be seen again. Their resilience to all the things that held them back and their drive to keep going even while this book was being written was inspiring.

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never had a chance to meet, bond or talk with my grandparents both on my mother and father side. I was around 3 or 4 years old when my grandfather on my mother side left us.

This book gave me an idea on what if I had the chance to talk and bond with them. The author made the readers as if they were a part of the conversation and of the storieabecause of the way she wrote this. There are also a lot of sayings from the grandparents which made me ponder and thought if my grandparents will say those to me if they were still alive.

I highly recommend this book not only because of the stories of Tessie and Pearlie are entertaining to read but their life stories made you realize how to value and to enjoy life while you can.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO GOOD!
But perhaps I had to be in the right place in life to read this story. I certainly wouldn't have had the same rating had I read it in my 20's or even my 30's, but now I'm helping my 91 year old grandmother-in-law, and it was poignant and dear to me.

[Laura Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very yiddish and cute.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never met my Grandparents, reading this lovely story of Tessie & Pearlie was pure joy! Families are extraordinary things and so is this book.

[Mell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, funny book. Touching stories. I think I gifted this to my friend KB ages ago. Finally got around to reading it. Glad I did.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

i definitely enjoyed this book. it took me a while to read it because i had a lot of things going on in my life and also because sometimes it was a little hard to stay into but i still enjoyed it.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet comfort food!