Some Days There's Pie: A Novel [Paperback]

Catherine Landis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2003

Ruth thinks she has found her ticket out of Tennessee by eloping with a stereo salesman, but soon he “gets religion,” and Ruth leaves. When she faints in a North Carolina five-and-dime, Rose, a fiesty elderly reporter, rescues her, beginning a friendship stronger than family ties. With spirited humor and empathy, Landis intertwines the stories of Rose, who is in denial of her terminal illness, and Ruth, who posesses the energy of Rose in her younger days.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some Days There's Pie is a determinedly folksy title for a determinedly folksy novel. Catherine Landis's debut tells the story of two iconoclastic Southern women who find each other at exactly the right moment. Narrator Ruth, fleeing a constraining marriage, is just starting out in life; Rose, an elderly muckraker, is just coming to the end. Their friendship provides the scaffolding for this quirky, emotional novel. The two characters are gritty and funny, but they can also be annoyingly aware of their own uniqueness. Ruth's sister wants her to "have a lot of boyfriends and join the pep club and wear makeup instead of hanging out in the woods, looking at the stars, which was the kind of thing I liked to do." Such clichéd iconoclasm would be heavy-handed even in a young adult novel. On the other hand, almost every page yields the kind of offhandedly sprightly language--"It was August and no-kidding hot"--that marks the best and freshest Southern writing. These small pleasures amass and make this first-time novelist a writer to watch. --Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Alternately wise, poignant, droll and sassy, this debut charts the life-changing friendship of two singular Southern women. Tennessee-born Ruth turns 20 in the course of their relationship; Rose, from Texas, is 80 and dying of lung cancer. But it almost doesn't matter where they are on the time line: all their energy goes into getting the moment right, whether they're rescuing graffiti poet Cecil from the cops, spoiling awful Fred Fish's scam to build private boat canals at public expense by calling them mosquito control ditches, or savoring fried crab sandwiches. Unsentimental women who spurn birthday cakes, heaven and everlasting love, both are runaways from true believers Ruth, for example, is escaping her churchy husband, Chuck, who had helped her leave a mother wedded to despair. The women meet by chance in a Lawsonville, N.C., five-and-ten, and Rose gets Ruth a receptionist job at the Lawsonville Ledger, where the octogenarian former ace reporter now hustles ads. Eventually, Ruth repays Rose by snatching her from a loving but smothering daughter, Carol, a nurse who wants Rose to quit smoking, take her pills and die by the book. Chronic escape artists able to tolerate some intimacy with each other only because they're both big on boundaries, Ruth and Rose never duck a challenge. Landis does a fine job of rendering these memorable characters, two iconoclasts on a quest to live big until they die.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 291 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312309295
• ISBN-13: 978-0312309299
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,520,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worth 4.5 stars ~ a work of literature, January 10, 2003

By 

mamareadssomuch "mamareadssomuch" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Days There's Pie: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ruth married young and finds out that her beloved is more attached to God and his "out there" church than her so she leaves him and hits the road. Not before he gives her $300 and buys her a car. She leaves her pathetic family too and heads on her way for a new life, not sure where she'll end up. In another small, Southern town she meets Rose, an older woman dying of lung cancer and through her, does Ruth blossom.
This is a work of literature at its best. Thoroughly entertaining. Very funny in parts and sad mostly but you will find it a true craft of storytelling at its best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Everyone is worth a story., November 1, 2005

By 

Tonya Speelman "Hoarder of books" (Goldendale WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Some Days There's Pie: A Novel (Hardcover)

Isn't that the truth. This book is overall a very good book. I loved the small town life and people fighting for what they believe in. I however had trouble with the views of no God and the relationships seemed shallow. It seems Ruth just drifts from place to place, not really giving anyone a chance to know her. She invents herself completely different from who she really is. That isn't getting to know people really.

I have trouble with no real love just people shacking up with this person and that person. Maybe I am just not the person to read a book that rambles or has more literal meanings. Maybe they went way over my head. Whatever way, I would still read more by this author, I think!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So,So, March 17, 2010

By 

Joan Beaver "Constant reader, JB" (La Mirada, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Some Days There's Pie: A Novel (Paperback)

I generally like books writen about the south, but found this one to be slow moving. I usually keep my books and read them many times as I always get something I missed the first time. Unfortunately, this is one that is going to Goodwill after the first reading.