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Pears on a Willow Tree
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Pears on a Willow Tree is a multi-generational 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 bridal gown or preserving pickles as a gift to the newlyweds. Bound together by recipes, reminiscences and tangled relationships, these women are the foundation of a dignified, compassionate family -- one that has learned to survive the hardships of emigration and assimilation in 20th-century America.
Pears on a Willow Tree is a multi-generational 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 bridal gown or preserving pickles as a gift to the newlyweds. Bound together by recipes, reminiscences and tangled relationships, these women are the foundation of a dignified, compassionate family -- one that has learned to survive the hardships of emigration and assimilation in 20th-century America.
But as the century evolves, so does each succeeding generation. As the older women keep a tight hold on the family traditions passed from mother to daughter, the younger women are dealing with more modern problems, wounds not easily healed by the advice of a local priest or a kind word from mother.
Amy is separated by four generations from her great-grandmother Rose, who emigrated from Poland. Rose's daughter Helen adjusted to the family's new home in a way her mother never could, while at the same time acepting the importance of Old Country ways. But Helen's daughter Ginger finds herself suffocating within the close-knit family, the first Marchewka woman to leave Detroit for the adventure of life beyond the reach of her mother and grandmother. It's in the American West that Ginger raises her daughter Amy, uprooted from the safety of kitchens perfumed by the aroma of freshly baked poppy seed cake and pierogi made by hand by generations of women. But Amy is about to realize that there may be room in her heart for both the Old World and the New.
272 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
84 people are currently reading
386 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Pietrzyk
13 books87 followersI am the author of Silver Girl, Pears on a Willow Tree and A Year and a Day (novels) and, most recently, Admit This to No One (short stories about official DC). My collection of linked stories about the death of my first husband, This Angel on My Chest, won the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Short fiction & essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Iowa Review, Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Southern Review, Gettysburg Review, Hudson Review, The Sun, Shenandoah, Arts & Letters, Washingtonian, The Collagist, and Cincinnati Review. Oh, and one of my stories was awarded a 2020 Pushcart Prize--!!! I'm a member of the core fiction faculty at the Converse low-residency MFA program.
If I'm not writing, what I love most to do is cook...which is probably apparent from my books and stories, which are filled with food. Fun facts: Once I won the blue ribbon for chocolate chip cookies at the Virginia State Fair. Check out my website for a recipe for the best Thanksgiving stuffing in the world!
A guide for book clubs is posted on my website. Also...recipes!
If I'm not writing, what I love most to do is cook...which is probably apparent from my books and stories, which are filled with food. Fun facts: Once I won the blue ribbon for chocolate chip cookies at the Virginia State Fair. Check out my website for a recipe for the best Thanksgiving stuffing in the world!
A guide for book clubs is posted on my website. Also...recipes!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
January 18, 2017
This was too maudlin and at times rather character belligerent at turns. Four generations and from Poland to Detroit. Women with their daughters or without them. Closeness or distance. Traditions kept or lost. Or new ones initiated in a new surrounding land.
I didn't become embedded because of the personalities for the younger characters. Or the tone of the language expression. But it was certainty authentic and appropriate for Polish immigrant experience.
The shocks weren't and the plot lacked, IMHO. But my taste needs more layers, this seems good attempt chick lit sentimentality fare.
Every Polish immigrant from this era I have ever known worked harder outside the home than this book connotes. Men, women, and children all.
I didn't become embedded because of the personalities for the younger characters. Or the tone of the language expression. But it was certainty authentic and appropriate for Polish immigrant experience.
The shocks weren't and the plot lacked, IMHO. But my taste needs more layers, this seems good attempt chick lit sentimentality fare.
Every Polish immigrant from this era I have ever known worked harder outside the home than this book connotes. Men, women, and children all.
April 7, 2011
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.
Family traditions that bind (sometimes to the point of choking) are delivered here in ways that transcend all cultures, including yours, whether yours includes making pierogies, or pasta, or biscuits, or hoe-cakes. I found myself calling the women in my family more often while reading this story, as it caused me to yearn for tradition, for stories, for the kind of home that is carried in your heart, instead of found in a house.
This novel would make an excellent read for a women's studies group or ladies book club, though I'm sure any man could learn a lot about the workings of the female mind and heart, by reading this text.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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.
Family traditions that bind (sometimes to the point of choking) are delivered here in ways that transcend all cultures, including yours, whether yours includes making pierogies, or pasta, or biscuits, or hoe-cakes. I found myself calling the women in my family more often while reading this story, as it caused me to yearn for tradition, for stories, for the kind of home that is carried in your heart, instead of found in a house.
This novel would make an excellent read for a women's studies group or ladies book club, though I'm sure any man could learn a lot about the workings of the female mind and heart, by reading this text.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
August 18, 2016
A fantastic read. Starts with a recipe for Pierogi and ends with one for poppyseed cake. In between, four generations of Polish-American women talk, cook, argue, sew each other's wedding dresses, tell stories, and understand and misunderstand each other in the way only mothers and daughters can.
Pietrzyk has a nifty, uncluttered prose style and above all, a keen ear for the way women really do talk.
Loved it!
Pietrzyk has a nifty, uncluttered prose style and above all, a keen ear for the way women really do talk.
Loved it!
April 20, 2021
I first read this book 20 years ago. My boyfriend (now husband) gave it to me, explaining that it was about 4 generations of Polish American women in Detroit. I am Polish American and from the upper Midwest. I cried because I was so touched that he would seek out a book I would relate to based on heritage. It is not an easy book to read because the women are all dealing with challenges. It is however a very authentic book that deals with family and individualism in thoughtful ways.
March 23, 2021
I fell in love with this book and author twenty years ago and decided to read "Pears on a Willow Tree" again. I first became acquainted with Ms. Pietrzyk because a life-long friend of mine is her aunt. I fell in love with her style and character development from the very beginning. This books tells the story of a Polish family through generations of love and tragedy. I have also read: A Year and a Day (2004) - This Angel on My Chest (2015) - Silver Girl (2018). I was recently startled by the fact that I was completely engaged in her protagonist, read the entire book, and only after the fact realized that we never know the young woman's name. An amazing feat to me!! I highly recommend this marvelous voice in modern literature. Kristi & Abby Tabby
March 17, 2019
Best novel I’ve read this year!
Memories intertwined over the years and several generations of women in one family who’s great grandmother emigrated to America from Poland. Such exquisite detail, it feels like all of our stories.
Memories intertwined over the years and several generations of women in one family who’s great grandmother emigrated to America from Poland. Such exquisite detail, it feels like all of our stories.
April 30, 2023
Very well written, engaging story. Good character development.
August 8, 2010
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, and I just hate that in a story. I kept hoping it would get better or the characters would be redeemed, but it just fell flat.
August 31, 2018
As a daughter of Polish immigrants, I was impressed by the veracity of the cultural details. Often, I would be struck by something in the story that I thought was unique to my family. Do all Polish mothers leave wrappers on their lampshades, hoard African violets, and set towels down on their chairs before sitting down? Sometimes it was painful to recognize exact fights I had with my own Polish mother.
I wanted to love this book, but the central character was so stubborn, selfish, and broken that I just couldn’t enjoy her story.
I wanted to love this book, but the central character was so stubborn, selfish, and broken that I just couldn’t enjoy her story.
January 16, 2008
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.
August 16, 2013
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.
January 4, 2015
This book is an unusual account of a Polish American immigrant woman named Rose and her extended family . It is a story of how mothers and daughters of 4 generations interact, grow into their own, move away, and yet remember family traditions and ties that bind. 3.5 stars
February 2, 2013
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.
May 6, 2020
Reminds me of my childhood!!
April 28, 2021
This book tells the story of four generations of Polish women, starting with Rose, who immigrated from Poland in 1919; her daughter Helen, who lives near her mother in Detroit; Helen's daughter Ginger, who can't wait to escape from the Polish family and Detroit, and who is an alcoholic who relocates to Phoenix; and Ginger's daughter Amy, who teaches English in Thailand. It's about the closeness (almost claustrophobia) of the extended family - the generations of mothers and the cousins, aunts and siblings - and how the women navigate this closeness, or choose to escape it. Ginger is an unlikable and unsympathetic character who drinks too much and acts out her anger in childish ways. Amy, the youngest daughter, is the most sympathetic. I identify with her desire to escape, to travel, to record her travels, and to experience other cultures and life in general.
Overall, I got bogged down in many spots throughout the novel. I could certainly understand the desire to escape the family expectations and dynamics.
Overall, I got bogged down in many spots throughout the novel. I could certainly understand the desire to escape the family expectations and dynamics.
May 23, 2017
Peren aan een wilg vertelt het generatie verhaal van een Poolse familie die naar Amerika emigreert. Het vertelt, zoals vele generatieverhalen, het verhaal van de vrouwen in de familie. Hoe de traditie blijft voortbestaan in de Poolse keuken, maar ook hoe sommige dochters de drukkende/beklemmende familie proberen te ontvluchten door naar de andere kant van het land te verhuizen.
Generatieverhalen kunnen prachtig zijn, zoals Anna, Hanna en Johanna, maar het kan ook een niet veelzeggend verhaal zijn. Wat in dit geval nogal complex is opgetekend. Zo wordt elk hoofdstuk door een andere vrouw verteld, dan een dochter, dan een moeder, dan de grootmoeder. Waarbij in elk verhaal een kleine zijlijn voor een tante, nicht of andere vrouw is. Dat maakt peren aan een wilg een vermakelijk boek, waar geen echte verhaallijn in zit, maar waar elke lezer een stukje van zijn of haar eigen familiegeschiedenis in kwijt kan.
Generatieverhalen kunnen prachtig zijn, zoals Anna, Hanna en Johanna, maar het kan ook een niet veelzeggend verhaal zijn. Wat in dit geval nogal complex is opgetekend. Zo wordt elk hoofdstuk door een andere vrouw verteld, dan een dochter, dan een moeder, dan de grootmoeder. Waarbij in elk verhaal een kleine zijlijn voor een tante, nicht of andere vrouw is. Dat maakt peren aan een wilg een vermakelijk boek, waar geen echte verhaallijn in zit, maar waar elke lezer een stukje van zijn of haar eigen familiegeschiedenis in kwijt kan.
February 12, 2019
Once again, a story with great potential and poor execution I stopped at page 50. There were too many characters to effectively apply the structure of alternating and making each chapter about one of the four generations of women. It was messy and confusing. Verbally it was hard to figure out which character in a particular chapter was the grandmother or great-grandmother because one character's grandma was another character's great grandma.
Also, the women's stories weren't woven together within the chapters and there was a complete lack of attention to paid to the men in their lives, and one thing is clearly understood in this world among all cultures- as women our lives our forceably shaped by men. I know it was an exploration of how these four generations of women shaped each others lives, but still.....they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and that shapes them too.
Also, the women's stories weren't woven together within the chapters and there was a complete lack of attention to paid to the men in their lives, and one thing is clearly understood in this world among all cultures- as women our lives our forceably shaped by men. I know it was an exploration of how these four generations of women shaped each others lives, but still.....they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and that shapes them too.
January 16, 2022
3.5 stars.
This novel was written from the points of view of several women of several generations. The family emigrated from Poland to Detroit in the early part of the 20th Century. This novel would have been better served to be written in a linear fashion. Initially I found it hard to keep track of who was whose mother, daughter, etc.
I did enjoy the characters. The women were feisty, smart, super opinionated and loved to gossip but the love they shared came through loud and clear. Of the recipes mentioned in the novel it was sweet to see them explained as "take a knob of butter as thick as your finger bent over and use a teacup full of flour." There was love, plenty of sadness and some bigotry in the story which I believe was accurate to its time and place. This story had the emotional pull of women's family relationships with each other and I was pulled right in. This was a richly imagined world and I enjoyed being in it.
This novel was written from the points of view of several women of several generations. The family emigrated from Poland to Detroit in the early part of the 20th Century. This novel would have been better served to be written in a linear fashion. Initially I found it hard to keep track of who was whose mother, daughter, etc.
I did enjoy the characters. The women were feisty, smart, super opinionated and loved to gossip but the love they shared came through loud and clear. Of the recipes mentioned in the novel it was sweet to see them explained as "take a knob of butter as thick as your finger bent over and use a teacup full of flour." There was love, plenty of sadness and some bigotry in the story which I believe was accurate to its time and place. This story had the emotional pull of women's family relationships with each other and I was pulled right in. This was a richly imagined world and I enjoyed being in it.
March 15, 2019
A beautiful story of a Polish family who immigrated to United States, landing in Detroit as told through the women of the family. The book is told through the different perspectives of generations, the grandmother just arriving to the US, the mother struggling to find her voice, the daughter looking for space and a new adventure away from family and the granddaughter seeing the layers of the family and trying to put all the pieces of who she is within her family together.
October 20, 2024
My family is not Polish, nor are they recent immigrants, but there is so much here I can relate to. I think most readers will find the same because these life experiences/lessons are universal. This is at times a difficult story to read, especially the parts dealing with alcoholism, but it's such a meaningful book that it's worth it. This author really knows how to paint complex characters as well as many different settings. This is a book that I know will stay in my mind for a long time.
August 27, 2025
Families -- everybody's got one. This book is about four generations of a family who immigrated to Detroit from Poland. And mainly, the women. The whole book is written in the first person, with each chapter alternating between different family members at different points in their lives.
I was about to write "it's nothing like my family" when I realized that my maternal grandmother also immigrated to America from Poland. My family settled in New York instead of Detroit, but I'm sure the importance of family connections, and certain foods, both families have in common.
I like this book a lot, without knowing exactly why. Memorable stories, lines, personalities and situations. And it's very real. Life shouldn't be like this but it totally is.
I was about to write "it's nothing like my family" when I realized that my maternal grandmother also immigrated to America from Poland. My family settled in New York instead of Detroit, but I'm sure the importance of family connections, and certain foods, both families have in common.
I like this book a lot, without knowing exactly why. Memorable stories, lines, personalities and situations. And it's very real. Life shouldn't be like this but it totally is.
June 4, 2018
Such dysfunction.
It's hard to read a book that is such a downer the whole way through. I wanted more from each of the female characters in this book. Though I know there are generational and cultural differences that are acknowledged, it just all seemed so severe in this book that it wasn't a pleasant read.
It's hard to read a book that is such a downer the whole way through. I wanted more from each of the female characters in this book. Though I know there are generational and cultural differences that are acknowledged, it just all seemed so severe in this book that it wasn't a pleasant read.
February 19, 2022
Got about 30 pages in and couldn't stomach it anymore. Annoying, flat characters. No plot. Awkward writing. Way too much mundane dialog. I really wanted to like this book -- it was a gift with a note to me from the author. Sorry, but it will not stay in my library. 😔
May 11, 2018
Read half of it and will not finish it. Characters are not developed, timeline goes back and forth and is confusing and not interesting.
May 16, 2018
Didn't read the last two chapters thoroughly. Just wanted the laundry list of stuff she was looking at to end. I like the prose, easy to hear the voices .
November 22, 2018
I really liked it. 4 generations of Polish women all making the same mistakes with their mothers and their daughters.
March 2, 2019
A nice story about mothers and daughters.
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January 10, 2021Amy and Ginger always looking for something that doesn’t exist - a pear in a willow tree! A clear perspective for all families!
April 4, 2024
Foodie book club. Did not enjoy it.
May 21, 2024
oh my god i think this book was built to hurt me personally
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews