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True Confections
Take chocolate candy, add a family business at war with itself, and stir with an outsider’s perspective. This is the recipe for True Confections , the irresistible new novel by Katharine Weber, a writer whose work has won accolades from Iris Murdoch, Madeleine L’Engle, Wally Lamb, and Kate Atkinson, to name a few.
Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky’s marriage into the Ziplinsky family has not been unanimously celebrated. Her greatest ambition is to belong, to feel truly entitled to the heritage she has tried so hard to earn. Which is why Zip’s Candies is much more to her than just a candy factory, where she has worked for most of her life. In True Confections , Alice has her reasons for telling the multigenerational saga of the family-owned-and-operated candy company, now in crisis.
Nobody is more devoted than Alice to delving into the truth of Zip’s history, starting with the rags-to-riches story of how Hungarian immigrant Eli Czaplinsky developed his famous candy lines, and how each of his candies, from Little Sammies to Mumbo Jumbos, was inspired by an element in a stolen library copy of Little Black Sambo, from which he taught himself English. Within Alice’s vivid and persuasive account (is her unreliability a tactic or a condition?) are the stories of a runaway slave from the cacao plantations of Côte d’Ivoire and the Third Reich’s failed plan to establish a colony on Madagascar for European Jews.
Richly informed, deeply moving, and spiked with Weber’s trademark wit, True Confections is, at its heart, a timeless and universal story of love, betrayal, and chocolate.
Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky’s marriage into the Ziplinsky family has not been unanimously celebrated. Her greatest ambition is to belong, to feel truly entitled to the heritage she has tried so hard to earn. Which is why Zip’s Candies is much more to her than just a candy factory, where she has worked for most of her life. In True Confections , Alice has her reasons for telling the multigenerational saga of the family-owned-and-operated candy company, now in crisis.
Nobody is more devoted than Alice to delving into the truth of Zip’s history, starting with the rags-to-riches story of how Hungarian immigrant Eli Czaplinsky developed his famous candy lines, and how each of his candies, from Little Sammies to Mumbo Jumbos, was inspired by an element in a stolen library copy of Little Black Sambo, from which he taught himself English. Within Alice’s vivid and persuasive account (is her unreliability a tactic or a condition?) are the stories of a runaway slave from the cacao plantations of Côte d’Ivoire and the Third Reich’s failed plan to establish a colony on Madagascar for European Jews.
Richly informed, deeply moving, and spiked with Weber’s trademark wit, True Confections is, at its heart, a timeless and universal story of love, betrayal, and chocolate.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published December 29, 2009
17 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Katharine Weber
18 books95 followersKatharine Weber's six novels and memoir, all highly-praised, some, award-winning, have made her a book club favorite.
Her eighth book, JANE OF HEARTS AND OTHER STORIES (Paul Dry Books, March 2022), is a collection of somewhat linked stories and a novella.
Her seventh book, the novel STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY (Paul Dry Books), had rave reviews and praise:
"Stark and compelling . . . Rigorously unsentimental yet suffused with emotion: possibly the best work yet from an always stimulating writer."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Katharine Weber's Still Life With Monkey is a beautifully wrought paean of praise for the ordinary pleasures taken for granted by the able-bodied. In precise and often luminous prose, with intelligence and tenderness, Weber's latest novel examines the question of what makes a life worth living."―Washington Post
"[A] deeply but delicately penetrating novel."―New York Times Book Review
"Weber's unsentimental and poignant examination of what does and does not make life worth living is a heartbreaking triumph."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A brilliantly crafted novel, brimming with heart."―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
Katharine's previous novel, True Confections, the story of a chocolate candy factory in crisis, was published in 2010. Critics raved: "A great American tale" (New York Times Book Review), "Marvelous, a vividly imagined story about love, obsession and betrayal" (Boston Globe), "Katharine Weber is one of the wittiest, most stimulating novelists at work today...wonderful fun and endlessly provocative" (Chicago Tribune),"Succulently inventive" (Washington Post),"Her most delectable novel yet" (L.A. Times).
Her sixth book, a memoir called The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities, published in 2011, won raves from the critics, from Ben Brantley in the New York Times ("Ms. Weber is able to arrange words musically, so that they capture the elusive, unfinished melodies that haunt our memories of childhood") to the Dallas Morning News ("gracefully written, poignant and droll"), the NY Daily News ("Old Scandals, what fun...the core of her tale is that of elegant sin and betrayal"), and the Boston Globe (a masterful memoir of the private world of a very public family"), among others.
Katharine was the Richard L. Thomas Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College for seven years. She has taught creative writing at Yale University (for eight years), and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the graduate writing program in the School of the Arts at Columbia University for six years. She has taught at various international writing workshops, from the Paris Writers Workshop several summers in a row to the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference and the West Cork Literary Festival in Ireland.
All of Katharine's books have been republished in paperback, some of them in more than one edition, and all are available as e-books. Take note, book groups! In these pandemic times, Zoom visits to book groups can be arranged.
Her eighth book, JANE OF HEARTS AND OTHER STORIES (Paul Dry Books, March 2022), is a collection of somewhat linked stories and a novella.
Her seventh book, the novel STILL LIFE WITH MONKEY (Paul Dry Books), had rave reviews and praise:
"Stark and compelling . . . Rigorously unsentimental yet suffused with emotion: possibly the best work yet from an always stimulating writer."―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Katharine Weber's Still Life With Monkey is a beautifully wrought paean of praise for the ordinary pleasures taken for granted by the able-bodied. In precise and often luminous prose, with intelligence and tenderness, Weber's latest novel examines the question of what makes a life worth living."―Washington Post
"[A] deeply but delicately penetrating novel."―New York Times Book Review
"Weber's unsentimental and poignant examination of what does and does not make life worth living is a heartbreaking triumph."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A brilliantly crafted novel, brimming with heart."―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
Katharine's previous novel, True Confections, the story of a chocolate candy factory in crisis, was published in 2010. Critics raved: "A great American tale" (New York Times Book Review), "Marvelous, a vividly imagined story about love, obsession and betrayal" (Boston Globe), "Katharine Weber is one of the wittiest, most stimulating novelists at work today...wonderful fun and endlessly provocative" (Chicago Tribune),"Succulently inventive" (Washington Post),"Her most delectable novel yet" (L.A. Times).
Her sixth book, a memoir called The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities, published in 2011, won raves from the critics, from Ben Brantley in the New York Times ("Ms. Weber is able to arrange words musically, so that they capture the elusive, unfinished melodies that haunt our memories of childhood") to the Dallas Morning News ("gracefully written, poignant and droll"), the NY Daily News ("Old Scandals, what fun...the core of her tale is that of elegant sin and betrayal"), and the Boston Globe (a masterful memoir of the private world of a very public family"), among others.
Katharine was the Richard L. Thomas Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at Kenyon College for seven years. She has taught creative writing at Yale University (for eight years), and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the graduate writing program in the School of the Arts at Columbia University for six years. She has taught at various international writing workshops, from the Paris Writers Workshop several summers in a row to the San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference and the West Cork Literary Festival in Ireland.
All of Katharine's books have been republished in paperback, some of them in more than one edition, and all are available as e-books. Take note, book groups! In these pandemic times, Zoom visits to book groups can be arranged.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
February 17, 2024
Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky is a “renowned pariah” hiding in plain sight. She is quite honest about what people say about her but is not up front about any guilt. She is truly addicted to counseling though, 4 times a week or more if you count her several counselors. A true unreliable narrator. Unlike a lot of unreliable characters in contemporary novels, she is fun, and though topics discussed here such as love, family and business are completely serious her character cracked me up. You couldn’t say that about characters in books such as Gone Girl, The Girl on a Train or The Woman in the Window. Those women were scary off-normal.
Alice goes from being “arson girl” in everyone’s minds, to marrying into a family candy business. From youth to middle age, this woman has caught the candy bug, as least as far as the business goes. She insinuates (she would never use that term) herself into the marketing, product development, charitable work and finances of her new found Jewish family. It can be a sweet (never cloying), sticky mess. This is all difficult to describe and I can’t explain why I find it so hilarious. There sometimes is a touch of Woody Allen. Do I need to mention that the patriarch of the business developed and named the candies in his company in 1920s Connecticut after Little Black Sambo? That has
turned out to be very problematic in our times.
I love the very reliable discussion of business practices, conventions and candy cookery in the novel. I couldn’t catch the author up in a fabrication, not even once. I kept googling and no matter how preposterous a claim, they were always true, for instance the Mill Farm gummi lighthouse disaster.
As Alice says, “good tempering (in the chocolate biz) is essential for durability.” That goes for family and book writing as well.
Alice goes from being “arson girl” in everyone’s minds, to marrying into a family candy business. From youth to middle age, this woman has caught the candy bug, as least as far as the business goes. She insinuates (she would never use that term) herself into the marketing, product development, charitable work and finances of her new found Jewish family. It can be a sweet (never cloying), sticky mess. This is all difficult to describe and I can’t explain why I find it so hilarious. There sometimes is a touch of Woody Allen. Do I need to mention that the patriarch of the business developed and named the candies in his company in 1920s Connecticut after Little Black Sambo? That has
turned out to be very problematic in our times.
I love the very reliable discussion of business practices, conventions and candy cookery in the novel. I couldn’t catch the author up in a fabrication, not even once. I kept googling and no matter how preposterous a claim, they were always true, for instance the Mill Farm gummi lighthouse disaster.
As Alice says, “good tempering (in the chocolate biz) is essential for durability.” That goes for family and book writing as well.
February 15, 2010
A funny, edgy book. The narrator, Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky, is so perfectly off-kilter -- she's both sympathetic and disconcerting, often at the same time -- that she lends a slightly funhouse feeling to the story's telling. This dynastic epic of a candy-making family encompasses immigration, assimilation, success, failure, racism, inclusion, and everything you ever wanted to know about the candy business, all skillfully interwoven. And Alice's weird, funny, almost-perfectly-reasonable voice is the perfect medium. You pay attention, because Alice is the kind of narrator you want to keep an eye on, and in the process the story unwinds vividly. This is a smart novel, out of the ordinary and fun -- recommended whether you have a sweet tooth or not (although that's definitely an asset).
January 23, 2010
Who should read this book? Well, if you like mysteries, this has something for you. If you enjoy gossipy novels, this has something for you, too. You like family sagas? Yes, this is the story of four generations of a candy maker's family, albeit through the eyes of a delightfully unreliable narrator. Are you curious about candy-making, about small business, about the role of Jewish immigrants in modern America? Weber's book includes all of these. With such a mishmash, can the book be interesting? Oh, yes, most interesting, because no matter what Katharine writes about, she brings her own acerbic wit, a sly humour, and her own very special way with words. Were I still an English teacher, I would have this on my course of study; it is a book well-worth several readings, and the scrutiny of future writers for its technical treasures.
December 20, 2013
Updated 12-20-13, this is in my 10 top reads for 2013. I've picked books that I remember instantly when I look through the list, either because the plot was great, the subject matter was different or the writing was excellent.
As usual Weber really packs a lot of detail and research in with a great story in a short package--"don't be hasty, have another!" as Frieda would sing. (Cameo alert, there's a reference to the Triangle Shirt Factory fire, a subject of another of Weber's novels.)
After reading this you'll be set if you're in any type of candy trivia game. Livesaver family deaths? How Peter Paul got started? How many PEZ bricks in the PEZ logo? Ingredients of white chocolate? (and I admit, I don't like white chocolate, but maybe I've been eating the bad stuff. After all, I thought Godiva was okay but I wonder how they liked the "shoe polish" description given here!)
Let's face it, everyone likes candy and we all have memories of choosing exactly what at a young age. For those of us who grew up in Pennsylvania Hershey chocolate is the biggest business right after Heinz Ketchup, right?
In addition to the candy business Weber also tackles racism, Jewish mothers and sons, infidelity and Nazi Germany plans for the Jews. Poor "little Susies"--to paraphrase Freud, can't a piece of candy just be a piece of candy?
The entire book is a "true confession", declarations concerning the family history and candy factory by Alice Ziplinsky (and it does cover A to Z of her life). A non-Jew, she marries into Zip's Candies and spends her entire life working there (except for the times she's in psychotherapy). As a narrator everything she says has some truth to it, and everything sounds logical--her son should pick harder passwords if his own mother can figure them out!
Of course every family and family business, has secrets and characters doing what they can to get by, which may be fine and legal in 1920, but not in 2010. Issues come up when tradition trumps political awareness--for example, Alice is furious when her husband sends a box of candy to Bush, a frat brother, when he wins election, but she admits she can't send a box of "little Sammies" (candy named after the main character in Little Black Sambo) to Obama.
A perfect twist to the end about naming a new candy after her husband and his second family!
As usual Weber really packs a lot of detail and research in with a great story in a short package--"don't be hasty, have another!" as Frieda would sing. (Cameo alert, there's a reference to the Triangle Shirt Factory fire, a subject of another of Weber's novels.)
After reading this you'll be set if you're in any type of candy trivia game. Livesaver family deaths? How Peter Paul got started? How many PEZ bricks in the PEZ logo? Ingredients of white chocolate? (and I admit, I don't like white chocolate, but maybe I've been eating the bad stuff. After all, I thought Godiva was okay but I wonder how they liked the "shoe polish" description given here!)
Let's face it, everyone likes candy and we all have memories of choosing exactly what at a young age. For those of us who grew up in Pennsylvania Hershey chocolate is the biggest business right after Heinz Ketchup, right?
In addition to the candy business Weber also tackles racism, Jewish mothers and sons, infidelity and Nazi Germany plans for the Jews. Poor "little Susies"--to paraphrase Freud, can't a piece of candy just be a piece of candy?
The entire book is a "true confession", declarations concerning the family history and candy factory by Alice Ziplinsky (and it does cover A to Z of her life). A non-Jew, she marries into Zip's Candies and spends her entire life working there (except for the times she's in psychotherapy). As a narrator everything she says has some truth to it, and everything sounds logical--her son should pick harder passwords if his own mother can figure them out!
Of course every family and family business, has secrets and characters doing what they can to get by, which may be fine and legal in 1920, but not in 2010. Issues come up when tradition trumps political awareness--for example, Alice is furious when her husband sends a box of candy to Bush, a frat brother, when he wins election, but she admits she can't send a box of "little Sammies" (candy named after the main character in Little Black Sambo) to Obama.
A perfect twist to the end about naming a new candy after her husband and his second family!
August 2, 2010
It's terribly complicated to review a Weber novel. They are not straightforward. Oh, it's easy enough to write a blurb (courtroom documents of divorce/will case involving chocolate tycoon) -- but there are layers and layers and layers of plot, stirred together in a careful mix (temperature + time, plus a little salt). It's brilliant and enjoyable, and it's what makes me return over and over again, but how the hell do you explain something so encompassing?
Every time I read one of her books I am astonished that they are
1. published, and
2. reasonably popular.
The public must be more high-brow than I thought.
Or maybe the subtleties just pass them straight by.
I include myself in this - being positive there exist several dozen references/hints that I missed.
(note: not a real review - my afterreading notes.)
She is a WRITERLY writer. Hard to believe that anyone [but another writer:] would give a shit about her duplicitous, unreliable characters, repetitive structure w/ minor changes that move the plot appallingly slowly -- so it seems -- the constant shifting of truth.
Whatever. I thoroughly enjoy her books.
///
dealt a lot in racism, anti-Semitism, family-history-truth, amid sadnesses. Ultimately, the 'reliability' of the narrator was far less important than the story. I am sure that was what Weber intended.
Also: a metric shittonne of stuff about chocolate/candy. As a lifelong candy fan I was TOTALLY NOT BOTHERED (and I loved the lines connecting emotion/economy/consumption) - but I can see lots of other people not taking it so easily.
3.5 stars as usual. She'd be a tiny bit better if she stopped writing the Serious Literary Forms & wrote more novel-y novels -- or maybe the reverse is true. Whatever: I am a big fan.
ps. love her firm, unwavering stance on morality -- in all the books I've read -- so far.
Every time I read one of her books I am astonished that they are
1. published, and
2. reasonably popular.
The public must be more high-brow than I thought.
Or maybe the subtleties just pass them straight by.
I include myself in this - being positive there exist several dozen references/hints that I missed.
(note: not a real review - my afterreading notes.)
She is a WRITERLY writer. Hard to believe that anyone [but another writer:] would give a shit about her duplicitous, unreliable characters, repetitive structure w/ minor changes that move the plot appallingly slowly -- so it seems -- the constant shifting of truth.
Whatever. I thoroughly enjoy her books.
///
dealt a lot in racism, anti-Semitism, family-history-truth, amid sadnesses. Ultimately, the 'reliability' of the narrator was far less important than the story. I am sure that was what Weber intended.
Also: a metric shittonne of stuff about chocolate/candy. As a lifelong candy fan I was TOTALLY NOT BOTHERED (and I loved the lines connecting emotion/economy/consumption) - but I can see lots of other people not taking it so easily.
3.5 stars as usual. She'd be a tiny bit better if she stopped writing the Serious Literary Forms & wrote more novel-y novels -- or maybe the reverse is true. Whatever: I am a big fan.
ps. love her firm, unwavering stance on morality -- in all the books I've read -- so far.
November 22, 2009
Just loved this. (And, no, it didn't take me all this time to read it, I am just slack about keeping these lists.) I've always loved how Katharine's novels have some sort of document or artifact that helps to both spin the story and give the illusion of connecting it to the real world. This time, the whole book is that artifact - a novel in deposition - and there's a lot to think about. How reliable is our narrator? How much can we really know when we only know one side of a story? What would this family look like if we'd heard from a different character? Definitely will be re-reading this one.
Read
February 7, 2010I received "True Confections" as a goodreads giveaway and was excited to have it. I mean, who doesn't love free books? The honest reason why I entered the giveaway because the description said that the writer's talent was respected by many authors, one of which was Madeleine L'Engle and I figure if it was good enough for L'Engle, it was CERTAINLY good enough for me!
At first I didn't like this book very much. The style is not linear and the narrator jumps around a lot in the beginning in the present and past and I really just wanted her to get to the meat of the story. Once I became used to this narrative style, I really enjoyed this book. The story has wonderfully amusing bits of vocabulary, my favorite phrase was "intoxicating fermata." This novel is entertaining, confusing, and I'll say mysterious because the reader is never sure if the "facts" are indeed facts, or just the narrators rationalization.
I think this would be a great read for a book club because the author's storytelling allows for different interpretations of events and could be great for discussion. I will definitely be reading more of her novels in the future.
At first I didn't like this book very much. The style is not linear and the narrator jumps around a lot in the beginning in the present and past and I really just wanted her to get to the meat of the story. Once I became used to this narrative style, I really enjoyed this book. The story has wonderfully amusing bits of vocabulary, my favorite phrase was "intoxicating fermata." This novel is entertaining, confusing, and I'll say mysterious because the reader is never sure if the "facts" are indeed facts, or just the narrators rationalization.
I think this would be a great read for a book club because the author's storytelling allows for different interpretations of events and could be great for discussion. I will definitely be reading more of her novels in the future.
June 4, 2010
An entire book the saga of a small family candy factory. I expected it to make me hungry; what I didn't expect was to be bored. I read the entire novel waiting for something to happen, and in spite of all the past intrigue (arson, infidelity, possible industrial espionage and even accusations of racism), this is a deeply dull book. The narrator/main charactor, Alice is annoying, and I understood why she has no friends!
The best thing about "True Confections" are the descriptions of the candy made by Zip's; I'd like some Little Sammies, please!
The best thing about "True Confections" are the descriptions of the candy made by Zip's; I'd like some Little Sammies, please!
November 16, 2009
Sharp, dark, and funny w/ an enigmatic, opinionated, and cranky narrator who rivals Charles Kinbote for sheer unreliability. Much fun.
July 26, 2014
True Confections is my first introduction to Katharine Weber's writing, and what a delight it is!
As a lifetime candy-lover, I was immediately drawn in by the title, and I was thrilled to discover that the book really is about candy rather than just a cute play on "True Confessions".
But this isn't Charlie and the Chocolatae Factory (another great book, don't get me wrong). Rather than write a great fantasy about what life in the candy business is like, Katharine Weber chose instead to write a real-life story about love, family, and candy that is so believable I was tempted a couple of times to look up Zip's Candy to see where I could get some to try it myself!
The book's narrator, Alice Tatnall-Ziplinsky is an intelligent, articulate and witty woman that I found myself wishing I could go out for coffee with. She also happens to share my opinion of white chocolate. Alice is a sympathetic character, and I found myself always on her side, and ready to believe everything she said. But was Alice always right? She sometimes hinted that she may not be...
At no point did I find True Confections predictable, and I was consistently impressed with Ms. Weber's exhaustive research into the candy business to make her book more authentic.
I wouldn't dare give away any parts of the story, so I can only say that you really must read True Confections for yourself. I have already requested that my local library order several copies for circulation, and I am recommending True Confections to all my friends.
*****EDITED TO ADD: In compliance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received my copy of True Confections from Goodreads First Reads. I'm sorry I neglected to mention that earlier.*****
As a lifetime candy-lover, I was immediately drawn in by the title, and I was thrilled to discover that the book really is about candy rather than just a cute play on "True Confessions".
But this isn't Charlie and the Chocolatae Factory (another great book, don't get me wrong). Rather than write a great fantasy about what life in the candy business is like, Katharine Weber chose instead to write a real-life story about love, family, and candy that is so believable I was tempted a couple of times to look up Zip's Candy to see where I could get some to try it myself!
The book's narrator, Alice Tatnall-Ziplinsky is an intelligent, articulate and witty woman that I found myself wishing I could go out for coffee with. She also happens to share my opinion of white chocolate. Alice is a sympathetic character, and I found myself always on her side, and ready to believe everything she said. But was Alice always right? She sometimes hinted that she may not be...
At no point did I find True Confections predictable, and I was consistently impressed with Ms. Weber's exhaustive research into the candy business to make her book more authentic.
I wouldn't dare give away any parts of the story, so I can only say that you really must read True Confections for yourself. I have already requested that my local library order several copies for circulation, and I am recommending True Confections to all my friends.
*****EDITED TO ADD: In compliance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received my copy of True Confections from Goodreads First Reads. I'm sorry I neglected to mention that earlier.*****
February 10, 2010
"How sweet it is!" TRUE CONFECTIONS is as irresistible as a box of chocolates - the story is filled with greed, love, fun, lust and the incorrigible Alice Ziplinsky. She is not a true Ziplinsky not having been born into the family but married into it. Hired fresh out of Wilbur Cross High School to work on the Zip's Candies Factory floor, Alice diligently approached her tasks in the summer of 1975.
On her first day at work after five minutes she had just about mastered the art of "separating and straightening the Tigermelts" when Alice looked up and saw for the first time her future ex-husband, Howard Ziplinsky, son of the firm's founder, Sam, and his grumpy wife, Frieda. Founded in 1924 Zip's did well with
the manufacture of sweets, especially Little Sammies, so named because the elder Ziplinskys learned to speak English by reading Little Black Sambo.
However, success was not to last because a few bad decisions, such as the production of "Bereavemints," which had a deleterious effect on the mourners and led to lawsuits. Plus, Zip's was small and could be eaten alive by conglomerates and other hungry giants. Is it curtains for Zips?
But first some history - Alice (who inherited the majority of the company) has been through many years of psychoanalysis and now feels fully prepared to dissect and describe the family's ids and idiosyncracies in an effort to retain control of the business. That makes for an amazing story that includes the use of slaves on a cacao plantation and involvement with the Jewish mafia.
Weber fills her tale with a three generational history, smile provoking asides, and a blend of fact and fiction.
- Gail Cooke
On her first day at work after five minutes she had just about mastered the art of "separating and straightening the Tigermelts" when Alice looked up and saw for the first time her future ex-husband, Howard Ziplinsky, son of the firm's founder, Sam, and his grumpy wife, Frieda. Founded in 1924 Zip's did well with
the manufacture of sweets, especially Little Sammies, so named because the elder Ziplinskys learned to speak English by reading Little Black Sambo.
However, success was not to last because a few bad decisions, such as the production of "Bereavemints," which had a deleterious effect on the mourners and led to lawsuits. Plus, Zip's was small and could be eaten alive by conglomerates and other hungry giants. Is it curtains for Zips?
But first some history - Alice (who inherited the majority of the company) has been through many years of psychoanalysis and now feels fully prepared to dissect and describe the family's ids and idiosyncracies in an effort to retain control of the business. That makes for an amazing story that includes the use of slaves on a cacao plantation and involvement with the Jewish mafia.
Weber fills her tale with a three generational history, smile provoking asides, and a blend of fact and fiction.
- Gail Cooke
February 6, 2010
I won Katharine Weber's novel "True confections" through Goodread's First Read's giveaway section. It came packaged with little true confections wrapped candies. Completely unknown to me before hand, the story takes place in a city quite close to my hometown, giving it a very familiar feel right away. Weber's novel is like watching a food channel special on candy production mixed with a reality TV hell where a family bickers and feuds within each other, with chocolate tidbits and facts thrown in everywhere, and mother/sister/in-law drama steaming every page. The story can be jumbled at times, giving it a rambling friend quality, that can be annoying, but somehow you still can't put it down. Overall it is a great story, although I feel it could have been a little more organized in plot.
February 24, 2010
The secrets of the candy industry, seen from the inside out (particularly smaller companies rather than the big three). Great book. Since I've read Candy Freak, I could tell how well researched the book was, although the book never seemed researchy-- it was seamlessly woven into the narrative. I liked that the narrator was occasionally untrustworthy; for the most part you took her as a reliable chronicler of the family candy business, but then she'd mention something like, "From what I could tell from reading my son's e-mails, (before he changed his password) she seemed like a nice girl." And the descriptions of the chocolate were fantastic, mouth-watering.
April 13, 2010
Brilliant!!! A work of fiction that incorporates the cultural history of candy-making in the US and political history past and present into an entertaining and fascinating plot.
This is so realistic that it seems that this is an actual biography of Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky.
I can't wait to read the rest of Katharine Weber's novels.
This is so realistic that it seems that this is an actual biography of Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky.
I can't wait to read the rest of Katharine Weber's novels.
September 29, 2011
Why didn't this book garner the fame it deserved? I cannot recommend it highly enough. Now I have to read all her other books. It is funny, well, no, perfectly written, great and unusual topic, full of odd bits about the candy industry, wonderful family story - it has it all!
September 21, 2009
Interesting book. This is a great author whose novels are always different from one another.
December 2, 2010
This is a wonderfully nuanced and funny tale of corporate and family squabbling. Weber invents a fascinating history for the Ziplinsky candy family that is both complicated and moving.
January 25, 2010
This was really good!
January 3, 2011
I've enjoyed Katherine Weber's work in the past and as candy lover True Confections was particularly fun. This is a very funny book that gets crazier and crazier as it goes along.
January 31, 2020
To quote a song from the '80's "I Want Candy" & this book is just about that(among of things) Narrated by Alice Ziplinsky ;formerly known as "Arson Girl" in her small Connecticut town due to an unfortunate mishap w/a water pistol that she brought to a party as a prank which ,unbeknownst to her(or so she claims) was filled with lighter fluid & "accidentally" burning down her friend's family home. Even though she's acquitted, Arson doesn't exactly look good on a college admissions form & the entire town deems her unemployable as well. Someone does hire Alice as an ice cream server & she pictures herself scooping the stuff for the rest of her life until she happens upon an newspaper ad for Zips ,a local Family-run Candy Factory,whose looking for someone to work at their plant. Alice decides to try for it & the minute she gets there,falls under the spell of intoxicating scent of the place. She's promptly hired by the owner,Sam Ziplinsky ,who either doesn't know or care about her checkered past. Alice is a quick study & works her way up the ladder at the company . That & she also captures the attention of the owner's son, Howard ("Howdy") much to the displeasure of his classically overbearing "Jewish Mother" Freida. Alice & Howard marry a few months afterward & feels she's found a new family,as well as a "calling" which is to help make the low-profile Zips a bigger player in the ever-competitive Candy Market. The book,told as an affidavit as Alice fights for her share of the company is an unusual tale involving gangsters,the now- controversial children's story "Little Black Sambo" ,which the founder, Hungarian-Jewish Immigrant Eli Czaplinsky/later Ziplinsky reads while escaping on a train to Connecticut to avoid being "offed" and uses as inspiration for his candy line,(which consists of "Little Sammys", Tiger-melts" & "Mumbo Jumbos".) There's also ties to Madagascar,infidelity, a hilariously inappropriate product line(dreamed up by Alice)Howdy's mother Frieda & Flighty sister Irene never "truly" accepting the non-Jewish Alice (though Father-in-law Sam "does" & regularly tells her the company's history over lunch at a local diner) a& most,of all, Candy. Alice is your classic Unreliable Narrator "but once I "got "that ,I really enjoyed this book & her account of the company's history. That & I learned quite a bit about candy-making as well as actual product lines.If this book was a candy it would be Dark Chocolate;sweet with a bitter aftertaste, much like Alice Ziplinsky herself.
July 15, 2022
I adored this book, and I'm a little bummed that I finished it because now I can't keep reading the story! The book was so interesting to read. I thought that the narrative structure kept me hooked, I wanted to know when a topic would be brought up again so I had to keep reading to find out! Honestly, this book was hilarious. I loved the narrator's POV and, as stated, I would have read more if there was more to read!
May 11, 2012
Katharine Weber has written a fiercely fascinating novel that reads like a true story. It's all in the first person, told by Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky in the form of "a multi-generational saga of the family-owned-and-operated candy company, now in crisis." According to Alice, she is the most reliable person to tell this tale as "Nobody is more devoted than Alice to delving into the truth of Zip's history."
Zip's Candy has been around since the early twentieth century, founded by one Eli Ziplinsky and his brother. The three primary candies are Little Sammies, Tigermelts, and Mumbo Jumbos, all names taken from the children's book, The Story of Little Black Sambo.
The story starts out with Alice telling the reader about her entrance into the Ziplinsky family. She has applied for a job and is hired by Sam Ziplinsky, the current patriarch of the family, on the spot. This is a real coup for Alice as she has a history of being found guilty of a grade three felony for arson. Alice goes through all the hoops she can to let the reader know that the whole trial was a farce and the arson itself an accident. She had an incompetent lawyer and she would never have been found guilty under other circumstances. The media has named Alice 'Arson Girl" and she carries this shame with her. Working at Zip's changes Alice's life. "Perhaps some people would call this destiny. Zip's candies needed me, and I needed Zip's Candies. An inexplicable joy welled up in me as I realized that I knew that my life could start again from here, from this moment."
Alice loves the Ziplinsky family and shortly after starting work there, gets involved with Howard, Sam's son. They marry three months later and have two children. Alice's own family is WASPish and emotionally barren. Her parents barely acknowledge her existence. The Ziplinskys are Jewish and Alice tries to learn all that she can about the Jewish faith. However, the true Jewish faith and the way that the Ziplinskys practice it are like night and day.
Frieda, Howard's mother, does not warm up to Alice and a life-long barrage of emotional turmoil evolves between the two of them. Alice spends a great deal of the book giving examples of Frieda's coldness, miscommunication, and unfair treatment towards her. "I once heard her telling one of her Hadassah cronies that the problem with me was that I was a dumb goy with two smart Jewish children."
Alice realizes, as she tells the history of Zip's Candy, along with the details of candy manufacturing, that she will always be known as Arson Girl and there will be a black cloud hanging over her. However, she continues to believe that her emotional, fiscal and material investment in Zip's Candies is all honest and comes from a desire to tell the world the true story of this company.
As the story opens up, it goes back and forth in time, from one incident to another, and changes locale frequently. Howard is in Madagascar and there is some problem in their marriage which becomes clear later on. One of the beauties of this novel is the way it changes back and forth from one story to another and always comes back to what began the discussion initially. There are no loose strings and everything is covered even if it seems like a Mobius strip at times.
I never thought that a history of a candy company and a treatise on how to make candy would hold my interest but this novel did from beginning to end. It has the advantage of being written by Katharine Weber, author of Triangle: A Novel which I loved. It is also peopled by all kinds of wierdos, one stranger than the next, some laugh out loud funny and others sad sacks. I read this book in two days which is very fast for me and I had trouble putting it down.
Zip's Candy has been around since the early twentieth century, founded by one Eli Ziplinsky and his brother. The three primary candies are Little Sammies, Tigermelts, and Mumbo Jumbos, all names taken from the children's book, The Story of Little Black Sambo.
The story starts out with Alice telling the reader about her entrance into the Ziplinsky family. She has applied for a job and is hired by Sam Ziplinsky, the current patriarch of the family, on the spot. This is a real coup for Alice as she has a history of being found guilty of a grade three felony for arson. Alice goes through all the hoops she can to let the reader know that the whole trial was a farce and the arson itself an accident. She had an incompetent lawyer and she would never have been found guilty under other circumstances. The media has named Alice 'Arson Girl" and she carries this shame with her. Working at Zip's changes Alice's life. "Perhaps some people would call this destiny. Zip's candies needed me, and I needed Zip's Candies. An inexplicable joy welled up in me as I realized that I knew that my life could start again from here, from this moment."
Alice loves the Ziplinsky family and shortly after starting work there, gets involved with Howard, Sam's son. They marry three months later and have two children. Alice's own family is WASPish and emotionally barren. Her parents barely acknowledge her existence. The Ziplinskys are Jewish and Alice tries to learn all that she can about the Jewish faith. However, the true Jewish faith and the way that the Ziplinskys practice it are like night and day.
Frieda, Howard's mother, does not warm up to Alice and a life-long barrage of emotional turmoil evolves between the two of them. Alice spends a great deal of the book giving examples of Frieda's coldness, miscommunication, and unfair treatment towards her. "I once heard her telling one of her Hadassah cronies that the problem with me was that I was a dumb goy with two smart Jewish children."
Alice realizes, as she tells the history of Zip's Candy, along with the details of candy manufacturing, that she will always be known as Arson Girl and there will be a black cloud hanging over her. However, she continues to believe that her emotional, fiscal and material investment in Zip's Candies is all honest and comes from a desire to tell the world the true story of this company.
As the story opens up, it goes back and forth in time, from one incident to another, and changes locale frequently. Howard is in Madagascar and there is some problem in their marriage which becomes clear later on. One of the beauties of this novel is the way it changes back and forth from one story to another and always comes back to what began the discussion initially. There are no loose strings and everything is covered even if it seems like a Mobius strip at times.
I never thought that a history of a candy company and a treatise on how to make candy would hold my interest but this novel did from beginning to end. It has the advantage of being written by Katharine Weber, author of Triangle: A Novel which I loved. It is also peopled by all kinds of wierdos, one stranger than the next, some laugh out loud funny and others sad sacks. I read this book in two days which is very fast for me and I had trouble putting it down.
March 12, 2010
If you liked Candyfreak by Steve Almond, you’ll love True Confections.
Our story is told in the form of a deposition by Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky. She is a major player at Zip’s Candies, but it wasn’t always that way. Before she was Mrs. Howard Ziplinsky, she was Arson Girl. Arson Girl set fire to a neighbor’s house in New Haven. Arson Girl had no friends. Arson Girl was estranged from her parents.
But everything changed when Alice applied for a job at Zip’s. Sam Ziplinsky took her under his wing and encouraged the romance between Alice and his son, Howard. While working at Zip’s and marrying into the family, Alice learns the origins of Zip’s and their not-so-politically correct candies.
In her deposition, Alice tells the story of Zip’s, the Ziplinsky family and her own experiences with the company and its family. The Zip’s story is engrossing and ridiculous, and Alice is a sympathetic narrator, despite the oft implied unreliability of the former Arson Girl.
I really enjoyed this novel, especially the intricate plotting by the author. If you love candy, you’ll savor this sweet novel.
Our story is told in the form of a deposition by Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky. She is a major player at Zip’s Candies, but it wasn’t always that way. Before she was Mrs. Howard Ziplinsky, she was Arson Girl. Arson Girl set fire to a neighbor’s house in New Haven. Arson Girl had no friends. Arson Girl was estranged from her parents.
But everything changed when Alice applied for a job at Zip’s. Sam Ziplinsky took her under his wing and encouraged the romance between Alice and his son, Howard. While working at Zip’s and marrying into the family, Alice learns the origins of Zip’s and their not-so-politically correct candies.
In her deposition, Alice tells the story of Zip’s, the Ziplinsky family and her own experiences with the company and its family. The Zip’s story is engrossing and ridiculous, and Alice is a sympathetic narrator, despite the oft implied unreliability of the former Arson Girl.
I really enjoyed this novel, especially the intricate plotting by the author. If you love candy, you’ll savor this sweet novel.
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January 19, 2010Jackie says:
The protagonist in True Confections, Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky, is not the easiest person to like. She's got her quirks, but she clearly cares a great deal about her family. And perhaps even more so the family business, which is a small family run candy factory that has a complicated back-story, inspired by Little Black Sambo, a children's book that leads to no small amount of the hilarity in this novel. True Confections is written as an affidavit, the reasons for which slowly come into focus as the book moves along. In a nut shell, this is the story of one very complicated Jewish family (lots of great mother-in-law stories), two fires, and a whole lot of chocolate, sugar and vanilla. The premise is interesting and readers will find themselves eagerly flipping pages as they puzzle over what's the truth and what's, well...just Alice. There are plenty of fascinating historical and behind the scenes tidbits about the real-life candy industry as well which add a whole other dimension to this entertaining and fresh voiced new novel.
The protagonist in True Confections, Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky, is not the easiest person to like. She's got her quirks, but she clearly cares a great deal about her family. And perhaps even more so the family business, which is a small family run candy factory that has a complicated back-story, inspired by Little Black Sambo, a children's book that leads to no small amount of the hilarity in this novel. True Confections is written as an affidavit, the reasons for which slowly come into focus as the book moves along. In a nut shell, this is the story of one very complicated Jewish family (lots of great mother-in-law stories), two fires, and a whole lot of chocolate, sugar and vanilla. The premise is interesting and readers will find themselves eagerly flipping pages as they puzzle over what's the truth and what's, well...just Alice. There are plenty of fascinating historical and behind the scenes tidbits about the real-life candy industry as well which add a whole other dimension to this entertaining and fresh voiced new novel.
August 23, 2011
This is an extremely fun book. I was drawn to it by the cover (it sticks out!), and was hooked about five pages in. The storytelling is wonderful. It's rich and real, and very nearly feels like a true account of things. Katharine Weber is gifted with descriptions; I was right there with Alice when she smelled the licorice burnt-sugar smell of the factory for the first time. The characters are well-rounded, and the story flows really well for something with so much back-and-forth between the present and the past.
The one thing I would have left out, and I knocked my rating down a star for this, it the gratuitous dissing of Roald Dahl and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It felt more like a personal tirade from the author instead of the narrator, and it didn't really contribute anything to the story. It felt out of place and mean. Maybe my love of Roald Dahl has created some bias here, but I just felt it was unnecessary.
Overall, this is a *good* book. I would recommend it to anyone I know.
The one thing I would have left out, and I knocked my rating down a star for this, it the gratuitous dissing of Roald Dahl and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It felt more like a personal tirade from the author instead of the narrator, and it didn't really contribute anything to the story. It felt out of place and mean. Maybe my love of Roald Dahl has created some bias here, but I just felt it was unnecessary.
Overall, this is a *good* book. I would recommend it to anyone I know.
February 8, 2010
With her fifth novel, Katharine Weber delivers another comic, sad, and highly inventive storyline. Critics enjoyed learning about Alice Ziplinsky, whose multi-layered personality, revealed slowly through her imperfect narration, made for some fascinating reading. They were slightly less enamored with the extensive candy history lesson, which several reviewers found over-long and tiresome. Minor quibbles aside, True Confections was hailed as a compelling story of race, religion, candy, and one woman's struggle to find acceptance. This novel is for readers who prefer their chocolate on slightly on the bitter side. This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
March 23, 2010
Snarky, slightly antisocial, and with a tendency to arson, Alice Tatnall Ziplinsky describes the story of her life at Zip's Candies. It echoes The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in that the story is told entirely by Alice. The reader is always in her head, which gives a skewed picture and made me wonder what the story would look like told from another's perspective- Julie or Jacob perhaps? It was funny and intriguing, with lots of asides on politics, history, chocolate-making, and business.
July 24, 2010
"...a story of love, betrayal and chocolate." Who could ask for anything more? Alice Tatnall, known as Arson Girl as the result of an unfortunate accident involving a water pistol filled with lighter fluid and a charcoal grill, goes to work for the Ziplinsky Candy Company at age 18 and discovers her calling. Since the entire book is in the form of her legal affidavit the reader is immediately tipped off that there is something going on that is only gradually revealed. Learned lots of interesting tidbits about the candy manufacturing process. Fans of Olivia Goldsmith or Jane Heller might enjoy this one.
August 2, 2010
This witty novel, written as an affidavit by Alice Ziplinsky, who has married into a family of Hungarian immigrants and their family-owned candy company, is funny, informative and engaging. The story of Zip's Candy (inspired by a stolen copy of Little Black Sambo which helped the founder of the company learn English) is so detailed and so convincing, that I almost believed I could find Little Sammies and Tigermelts at the grocery store. In fact, the author has a real website for this fake company. The information on American candy companies was so interesting that I wondered if I would have liked this book better as a work of non-fiction. No, probably not.
August 23, 2010
I got all the way through this book, and by the end, I still wasn't sure if I liked it or not. It made me uncomfortable not knowing if the protagonist was actually supposed to be the antagonist or if she was crazy or completely sane. Some people call that clever, which I guess it is, but I found it disorienting.
I also felt like it was written in kind of a blog-style: non-linear, choppy, quirky, full of inside information (because we're supposed to know the characters before we read). To me, this got old about half-way through the book. It felt like work to piece the Ziplinsky family together, not a charming mystery.
I also felt like it was written in kind of a blog-style: non-linear, choppy, quirky, full of inside information (because we're supposed to know the characters before we read). To me, this got old about half-way through the book. It felt like work to piece the Ziplinsky family together, not a charming mystery.
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