Thoughts 
Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen by Donia Bijan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2011, 254 pages
For the EMOTION category of What’s in a Name 6 Challenge.
OK, Friends, I loved this book! In fact, it must be obvious I loved this book because I loaned it to a very good friend and am anxious to get it back. THAT’s a lot of love for a book. I usually give away my books and rarely recall where I’ve sent them off. This one has an ‘are ya done yet, are ya done yet?!’ urgency plea connected to it. I WANT IT BACK. NOW. (but oh yea, I already promised I’d loan it to another very good friend…)
What? You want to know why exactly I loved it so?
Can I tease you for a few minutes?
I won this book an embarrassingly long time ago and it is embarrassing because you all know I love pie and you would think I would have read it immediately. In fact, I suspect that I “won” this book because the pie-gods know that I love pie and somehow pulled the right levers in the universe so that my name was pulled as the winner and thus that is how I got it into my flour-covered cold-buttered little hands, right?
And it took me a few months. *cough, cough*
OK. YEARS… not quite two which in book-blog-world-time of winning a book to reading it could be interpretted to be rather… yea, late.
Almost two years. Sigh…
Anyway, where was I? I loved the sharing, I loved the drama, I loved the recipes – though I have yet to cook anything. I SO WANT TO and I will.*
I think I related most to the fact that Donia and I are of a similar age. I was right there with her (sort of; not really) in 1978. I could relate to her wanting to fit in, to pay attention to her life and what she wanted of her life rather than ‘current events’.
I had great respect for her mother. I think I understood her father. Life sucks, sometimes. I laughed and I cried. What more do you want from a memoir?
Recipes?! yep, recipes.
APPLE PIE, Baby. Five slicer.
Recommended for purchase for the recipes. Really, I’m eager to try many of the recipes…
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* Or I will make the Hub make something. He’s the real cook in the family.
HIdeinWhitetoSkipLine
Care's Books and Pie 
You’ve convinced me I need to read this!
ha- I knew I could be persuasive.
Since it’s been a few years can I confess that I may have pulled that pie lever for you. 😉 I’m so so glad you enjoyed this one CarePie. I remember really liking it too even if the details have escaped my brain.
Yes, I suspected you were a muse of a pie-god…
Is it homesick pie because it reminds the writer of her childhood?
Ah, yes, Jeanne, great question GREAT question. In my typical don’t-tell-anything review style, I avoided addressing this, yes? Donia’s mother was a courageous woman who made the best of her situations. When she was vacationing in Spain, the Shah of Iran was deposed and she was never to see her home again. They made their home in California but life was never to be the same. She found solace in cooking though she never ever complained. This was actually some speculation on her daughter’s part (the solace – based on finding a drawer full of recipe clippings.) To be totally honest, I don’t recall her explaining much about “homesick” pie but her apple pie was supposedly awesome.
I have never even heard of this one. I typically like foodie books even though so often I won’t make anything from the book itself. I just like the comfort that food brings. Yep, I am a comfort food girl which is bad bad bad.
I love comfort food, too. Especially mashed potatoes.
This has been on my wish list for so long that I forgot all about it! It sounds like a book I’d love, and also a possible candidate for my book club’s annual summer foodie memoir with recipes/pot luck dinner.
Oh! I think it would be a fabulous book club book! and SO many interesting goodies to try. I bet it would be a hit.
I have this book and won it quite awhile ago, too! Not being quite the pie lover you are but liking pie a lot (especially if it comes with a side of ice cream!) I guess I should wrestle this book off my bookshelf and make some time to read it soon, uh? I hope you get your copy back. I always fear lending out my favorite books even to the best of friends as they often don’t come back to me. But I like to share too.
Are you having any pie today?
I had a copy of Garlic and Sapphires (fun book, btw! with recipes!!) that I have lost somewhere. Always meant to try her Carbonara – I think I’m spelling that wrong…
by Ruth Reichl. Fun memoir.
This sounds great! Does Algonquin ever go wrong? I love this enthusiastic review, and we never have to worry about spoilers!
Is Algonquin a publisher I should be more aware of? I guess so.
I loved this one, too – loaned my ARC to my daughter-in-law and she returned it before their move to NJ. I’d already forgotten what it’s about. You’re comment to Jeanne brought it all back. I’m going to have to flip through the recipes. Can’t even remember what she cooked but I can visualize the kitchen and the feeling that I could smell the food as she described the scents coming from the kitchen, now that you’ve reminded me exactly what the book was about. Was her mother Persian? I sometimes get my foodie books mixed up.
YOUR. Ack! I hate that kind of slip.
Do you mean to ask if MY mother is Persian? Nope. My mom is all German. 🙂
No, I was correcting you’re, which should have been your in “your comment”. I just got my copy of this book back from DIL, so I looked and I remembered that the mom was Persian correctly. I’d forgotten some key details, though.
Hahahaha, I hope you don’t think I’m malicious when I say that I was sort of pleased it took you two years to get around to the book. I am glad not to be the only one who is woefully slow at getting around to books I receive from other bloggers. :p
Oh, I probably have some books here somewhere that I received longer ago than that. yikes! I have a goal to read all the books that have been loaned to me and I’m not doing very well at it. Oh well! luckily, I don’t think anyone is waiting for me. BUT if you/someone are/is, please let me know and I will move it higher up on the pile.
Wait! You are supposed to read the books you win in a timely fashion? I am so screwed.
SHhhhhh! I think so. *looks right, looks left* But maybe the book-blog-police won’t see us…
I have never heard of this one. Have I? Maybe I did two years ago but never knew that it was a book to be so loved.
This book was perfect for my mood and situation at the time I read it. Can’t wait to get it back.