World of Pies: A Novel [Hardcover]

Karen Stolz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2000

First-time novelist Karen Stolz has created a cozy, poignant and exquis- itely written episodic tale of family, food, and love. Set in a small town in Texas in the 1960s, where there wasnt a lot to pick from, summer-job wise: counter-girl at Jerrys Dairy King, shampoo girl at Barbs Tint n Clip; the maid job at the Bluebonnet Motel, a young girl named Roxanne comes of age. Whether its a pie-baking contest that becomes a lesson in racial politics and courage; a crush on the new mailman (who is a woman); or dealing with the death of her beloved father and her mothers remarriage, Roxanne never fails to touch our hearts. And if that werent enough, the recipes following each chapterwhich range from Christinas Lemon Meringue Pie to Doreens Frozen Fruit Saladevoke a cozy sweet sensation that makes it seem as though there could be no better place to live than tiny Annette, Texas. A selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club. Advanced praise for World of Pies: Karen Stolzs talent shines forth like a jewel. Annette, Texas, is a place that I believe readers will want to visit again and again. ~ Gloria Naylor, author of The Women of Brewster Place If Karen Stolzs first novel were a pie, it would be the lemon meringue of your childhoodcrusty on the outside, sunny but a bit tart inside, and topped with a dreamy confection Irresistible. ~ Mary Willis Walker, author of All the Dead Lie Down

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Comparisons to Fried Green Tomatoes have become so commonplace that readers begin to suspect publishers of hyperbole until they come across something as front-porch charming as this episodic debut novel, covering nearly 30 years in the life of Roxanne Milner. Beginning in 1961, when Roxanne is 12, the 10 stand-alone chapters, most ending in dessert recipes and each serving up a witty, quirky slice of a single life, take as their primary setting Annette, Tex., a postage-stamp-sized town where even the advent of the first female mail carrier is big news. Roxanne's father is the proprietor of Carl's Corsets, while her mother is immersed in housekeeping and cooking, especially in "the world of pies, " a distinctively feminine territory that baseball aficionado Roxanne is not at all certain she wants to enter. But after she participates in the town's first pie fair, she develops an interest in baking. Adroitly maneuvering an energetic, episodic and unpredictable plot, Stolz makes a series of glimpses into smalltown life more universal by dropping a new element into each chapter--a mother's old boyfriend, a new baby, the arrival of the drug culture--each revealing a lively new angle of Annette and its inhabitants. Waves in Roxanne's domestic tide pool ripple outward, reflecting the more titanic racial, social and political changes in the world at large. True, there are some redundancies and some of the chapter endings are a little too cozily pat, but overall this is engaging storytelling, as nostalgically appealing as a 10? Coke. Agent, Gail Hochman. $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book club selections; 6-city author tour. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-A collection of bright, lighthearted yet poignant stories about a close-knit family. The portrait of Roxanne, a small-town girl growing up in Texas in the '60s, begins with pie-making lessons from Mom during her 12th summer and continues until her own preteen daughter's instruction in pastry making begins. Roxanne's father runs a small shop selling bras and corsets, a source of embarrassment for the whole family, but a lucrative business. In the first episode, her mother rouses the town's ire by insisting that a pie baked by one matron's maid be entered in the local fair under the baker's own name-never mind who paid for the ingredients and provided the kitchen. Roxanne supports her mom, but quakes at the thought of the taunts she could receive when school starts. When she is 15, her mother becomes pregnant. An only child, the teen is both mortified and jealous, and feels guilty for having such thoughts. In the following story, at 17, the protagonist describes parking in a quiet spot with her current boyfriend and being caught almost in the act by Officer Fenster. In a subsequent chapter, she is a college freshman when her father dies suddenly; the grieving family is sustained not just by relatives and friends, but by the whole community. Growing up in a family and town such as this one rings true for the '60s, and the characters are just as real and revealing today.
Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (June 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786865504
• ISBN-13: 978-0786865505
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,003,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful slice-of-life novel, June 19, 2001

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World of Pies: A Novel (Hardcover)

For a refreshing and sweet trip down memory lane, World of Pies is the perfect novel. Beginning with a 12-year-old girl named Roxanne and her obsession with baseball and daily Doreen's Drugstore visits, readers are transported back in time when they were young and carefree, when all that mattered in the world was perfecting your pitch, licking melting vanilla icecream as it runs down your arm, and barbeques on the Fourth of July.

Each chapter is based on a different stage in Roxanne's life. We get to know life as it is in sleepy Annette, Texas, where the world seems to come to a standstill, where everyone knows everybody, a place Roxanne couldn't wait to leave, but also the place where she couldn't wait to return. Roxanne grows up within these few pages, and readers will delight in every word.

World of Pies is a beautiful, homespun, feel-good novel. Each story can bring about nostalgic recollection, change laughter into tears, and tickle tastebuds with delicious recipies. Karen Stolz has written the perfect book for dreamers and thinkers, a home away from home, a story to pass on to friends. A nice change of pace after a heavy-duty novel and perfect for a quick weekend read.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Good as Mom's Homemade Pies!, June 9, 2000

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World of Pies: A Novel (Hardcover)

Travel along with author Karen Stolz as her book, World of Pies, takes you back to a place sadly gone.

The year is 1961 and 12 year old Roxanne, resident of a small town in Texas, and her mother are baking pies for the first ever Annette, Texas pie fair. Roxanne, though, would be happier if she was playing baseball. And as you read this lovely book, watch as Roxanne deals with first dates, first kisses, girlfriends and boyfriends. For within the pages of World of Pies is a wonderful coming of age story in the tradition of To Kill A Mockingbird. And watch as the story goes full circle as we see Roxanne at the end of the book teaching her daughter Sophie about the world of pies.

I found this book to be both charming and humorous. And an added bonus to this read is that the book is filled with recipes for mouth watering pies.

The book is also filled with wonderful and strong characters, a dash of poignancy, and a sprinkling of wit. All the necessary ingredients one needs to make a good pie and a wonderful read.

Pack this book for vacation time. You won't be sorry. It will be just right for the beach or a day spent reading under a tree.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good summer read, June 21, 2000

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World of Pies: A Novel (Hardcover)

I was a bit confused when I began this book; I thought it was only about the character Roxanne as a 12 year old. It is actually the story of a small town girl, Roxanne, as she grows up in the wonderful small town of Annette, Texas. Each chapter deals with a fragment of her growing up moving from baseball, to best friends to nail polish and love. Intertwined in all that is the lives of her parents and other family and the loved ones who come and go. It feels very true to the time and place, beginning in Annette in 1962 and moving where time takes her. The characters are interesting and true to life and very likable. The recopies throughout are actually pretty good, the fudge sauce divine. It is a slice of life in the 60's and 70's and anyone who ventures to Annette, Texas is in for a treat.