Description:

Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White's commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia. Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town's women. Meet Roger's ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster ("This fan works, but makes a clicking sound and will not oscillate").

Heartbreakingly tender, often hilarious, Quite a Year for Plums is a delectable treat from a writer who has been called a national treasure.

Review

"White will transport readers to that place where the language is languid, the bees hum . . . and everybody-- in a nice kind of way--is a little off-kilter."  --San Francisco Chronicle

"An enchanting work, as delicately stitched as a spider web."  --The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A novel of many perspectives. . . . On one level, Quite a Year for Plums is about chickens and peanut cultivars and pine- straw fires; on another, it's about art and impermanence and freedom." --The New York Times Book Review

"Deliciously funny. . . . As tasty as a 12-egg poundcake, pungent as tea olive and crafty as a crow."  --Atlanta Journal-Constitution

From the Back Cover

Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White's commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia. Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town's women. Meet Roger's ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster ("This fan works, but makes a clicking sound and will not oscillate").
Heartbreakingly tender, often hilarious, Quite a Year for Plums is a delectable treat from a writer who has been called a national treasure.

About the Author

Bailey White lives in south Georgia. She is the author of the national best-sellers Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Sleeping at the Starlite Motel. She is also a regular commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1 . A G R I S E A R C H

The spring edition of Agrisearch came out with a picture on the front page of Roger standing in the middle of a field holding a peanut plant in each hand. In the distance you could see the irrigation rig behind him, and then the uneven line of trees at the back of the field. The caption said, "U. of Ga. plant pathologist Roger Meadows compares a peanut plant stunted and damaged by the tomato spotted wilt virus (left) with a healthy plant."

For some reason the picture had come out amazingly good in every respect. The frail, sickly plant on the left looked almost weightless, as if it were just hovering between life and death in Roger's tender grasp, while the robust plant on the right seemed aggressively healthy, its dark leaves outlined sharply against Roger's white shirt. The hand holding this plant was slightly lower, as if it were all a strong man could do to support the weight of such vigor.

Roger's friends were all so taken with the picture that they cut it out of their April Agrisearch and propped it up on windowsills or stuck it with magnets to the fronts of refrigerators.

At the Pastime Restaurant the waitresses taped the picture up on the wall beside the "In Case of Choking" poster. Betty, the cashier, wrote "This is Roger, in Albert Bateman's peanut field" on a takeout menu and taped it up under the picture.

Roger's old friend Meade made a mat for the picture out of faded red construction paper left over from her schoolteaching days. In her enthusiasm for accuracy and information, she penned in down at the bottom the date the photograph was taken; Arachis hypogaea, the scientific name for peanut; and then 'Florunner,' the name of the cultivar.

Meade's friend and neighbor Hilma snipped Roger out of the peanut field with a pair of tiny scissors and transposed him onto two color photographs, so that he seemed to hover, artistically stark in Agrisearch black and white, between two lush springtimes--on the left, the bracken fern and longleaf pine woods on the hillside where his family house had once stood, and on the right, the 'Old Blush' in full bloom in his backyard rose garden.

Out in the country Roger's ex-wife's aunt Eula stuck the picture up on the refrigerator beside a crayon drawing of the Titanic her grandson had sent her from California. On the white of Roger's shirt Eula printed R-O-G-E-R in proud capital letters, with the final R dipping down out of consideration for the roots of the healthy peanut plant.

"As if anybody in this house doesn't know who that is," said her son Tom.

"Roger has such a kind face," said Hilma.

"And that well-bred nose," said Meade. "Men's noses become so important when they lose their hair."

"They say you should always label your family pictures," Eula told Tom. "In a hundred years people will forget even Roger."

"Look a there, there's Roger on the icebox!" said Eula's sister Louise.

"Roger ain't family, Mama," said Tom. "Just because he picks the banjo with five fingers and married Ethel before he was old enough to know better,
that don't make him family."

"R-O-G-E-R," said Louise. "They like a word like that, begins and ends with the same letter. But you got that last R so low, Eula, you got to be careful with your spacing, that can throw them off." For several years Louise had had the idea that spacemen were attracted to certain combinations of letters of the alphabet and certain arrangements of shapes and shiny objects, and this made her difficult to reason with at times.

"It's Roger, in Agrisearch, Louise, with his spotted wilt work," said Eula in a loud voice.

"Everywhere I go, there I am, me and those two peanut plants," said Roger. "Fools' names and fools' faces." He and his nematologist friend Lucy were picking his first roses.

"It's just such a remarkable picture," said Lucy.

"Everybody is struck by it. You look so deep, Roger. What in the world were you thinking about?"

"I was just feeling sorry for the photographer is all," said Roger. "He had driven all the way down here from Athens to take a picture of red wattle hogs in Sam Martin's new automatic feeder pens, but they couldn't get the doors to open, so the photographer said, 'Stand out in that field and hold up two peanut plants.' He had to come back the next week for the hogpens."

But even knowing that, people still prized their Agrisearch pictures of Roger in the peanut field.

"Just like Roger to be concerned about the photographer having that long drive for nothing," said Hilma.

"It is a remarkable likeness," said Meade. "It's his mother's nose."

"It was supposed to be two hogs, but they took a picture of Roger instead," Eula told Ethel on Saturday afternoon. But Ethel was looking at the foliage on the roses Roger had brought that morning.

"Roger knows how much I like the pink ones," said Eula, "so he always brings me 'Queen Elizabeth.'"

Ethel turned over a leaf and examined the back of it, but there were no spots on the leaves. "Nobody can grow roses like a plant pathologist," was all she said.

"He planted that rose garden just for her," said Meade, "because she loved them so, and before the 'Dr. W. Van Fleet' got to the top of the trellis she was gone." It was a perpetual conversation, why Ethel left Roger. Lucy and Meade were sitting on stools in Hilma's tiny kitchen watching her poke the stems of 'Madame Isaac Pereire' roses into a vase. The heads were floppy, which made them difficult to arrange, but Hilma loved the fragrance, so Roger saved 'Madame Isaac' for her.

"And for what?" Meade went on. "That little guitar-strumming nincompoop from Nashville with the wispy goatee, when Roger plays the banjo so beautifully. I will never understand Ethel."

"I don't think it had anything to do with banjos or roses," said Lucy. "Ethel is just not domesticated, that's all."

"I saw it with my own eyes," said Meade. "She seduced him right off that stage."

"But we have all reaped the benefits of the rose garden Roger planted for Ethel," said Hilma, in an effort to stem the tide. "So we should not complain."

"Because she liked the way he tapped his feet," said Meade. "And poor Roger, left with nothing to comfort him but the Irish Potato Famine." For two years after Ethel had left him for the Nashville guitarist, Roger had immersed himself in a study of late blight of potato, and that look of resignation, wisdom, and patience had come into his face that was brought out so well in the Agrisearch photograph.

" 'I shall send upon you the evil arrows of famine,' " Meade quoted grimly, " 'and I will break your staff of bread.' "

"Phytophthora infestens, the Great Plant Destroyer," said Lucy. "The science of plant pathology had its beginnings in the Irish Potato Famine. It's very humbling to study a disease like that."

But all this seemed far too gloomy on such a bright spring day, thought Hilma, with 'Madame Isaac' filling the room with its fragrance. It was not fair to blame Ethel for the Irish Potato Famine just because she had such a lively interest in a variety of men. "Ethel is a gifted teacher," she said. "That is an important thing to remember."

"I will never understand Ethel," said Meade. They sat for a minute, admiring that complex picture of Roger, looking so serious and thoughtful on Hilma's cupboard door. For all his Agrisearch wisdom and patience and resignation, still, at the corners of his mouth and in his eyes, squinting slightly in the sun, you could see just the beginning of a little smile, as if he had sense enough to realize that he did look slightly ridiculous, standing there to have his picture taken in the middle of a peanut field.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern charm at its best!

A.C. · May 26, 2025

You have to have a certain appreciation for the unlikely things that people consider important in the South to really get Bailey White's humor. She's one of a kind and her books always entertain. I read this story years and years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time around. Roger is a hero and his story is just unusual, so hunker down and enjoy it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Harsh criticism aside...I loved this book

v. · January 31, 2008

I have no idea why those who say they "love Bailey White's NPR pieces" do not "get"this book and dish out harsh criticism and/or call it boring.This book is for those who love language, quirkyness, and storytelling that is creative and out of the box. Yes, it's true...there is not "neat and tidy" ending or compelling plot line...but Bailey White paints word pictures that are so beguiling and so rich in their own unique slant of light that this alone makes it worth the time for me. She does what she does best: paint word pictures of the lives of real people (who among us is not our own type of oddball?). This book is a string of delightful, poignant, wonderfully crafted vignettes. And I consider my life richer for having read them.Those who demand more of Bailey White don't (in my opinion) understand her gifts.

3.0 out of 5 stars What's Up With All those Ladies' Names ... or Am I just Bamboozled?

M.P. · December 24, 2024

Well, now I read & was delighted with Bailey White’s previous 2 books — "Mama Makes Up Her Mind" & "Sleeping at the Starlite Motel".I did not bother to review them — their charms are readily apparent — & are just all over the place.Neither of those 2 required a coherent story from end to end — but I likely would have given each a 5-star rating.This is … a different book, & I am perplexed.I am only giving it 3 stars ...#1: — Becuz of the declaration on the cover that this is a story of a “YEAR”. It was never clear to me that the events shared with us covered a single “YEAR" — or that the 24 chapters were even in a sequence of events — or that the events had much of any kind of consequence to those events both before & after?#2: — Becuz of the declaration on the cover that this is — “A NOVEL”.#3: — Becuz of the the bewildering mix & unmatch of mostly recurring characters.Other notes & stuff to whine about —#4: On page ix we get a list of characters — & this is of some help. But it is minimal, & seems partly to be a tease. Am I missing something — like, maybe, the list is supposed to be a tease?#5: A family tree for the related characters would have been a powerful help! I tried to make a couple such trees for the different lines of folks, but there wasn’t enuf room on the page -- another layer of bamboozlement?#6: But maybe the biggest tease for me was in the names of the female characters. Take a look for yourself, & compare with the names of the men. What’s the difference?Here are the 7 listed men in sequence on the list — Roger - Tom - Andy - Gawain - Lewis - Bruce - Jim Wade.So … what?The names of the men are mostly of 1 syllable & they share hardly any letters, especially consonants, amongst them — & thus are pretty DISTINCT. Is this series of male names the first part of a little joke on the author’s part? [Also, why does the last man listed — of ALL the characters -- get 2 names — even tho he is the last man listed & plays only a tiny part?]Now let’s look at the names of the 8 women — Ethel - Louise - Eula - Hilma - Meade - Della - Lucy.Does it not just kind of leap out at you? I mean the similarities in the names? All are of 2 syllables, except for 1.Let’s count the curiously recurring letters — ignoring upper or lower case — E = 7 … L = 7 … U = 3! This swarm of E's … L's … and U's is confounding to my aging male memory! I think I started to get a funny echoing & bamboozling sound in my mind’s ears with these names as the book went on.#7: Starting at chapter 9 [of 24 in the book] I made a vertical character list of the folks in that chapter on the nice open space at the top of each such chapter. Here is what I got for chapter 9 — Gawain … Hilma … Roger … Della … Meade … Lucy … Eula … Tom … Andy … Ethel … Steve. However, this listing only helped a little. Maybe if I had started with chapter 1? You might want to try that …?#8: As the book went on, I got I peculiar recurring urge to study the cover with the picture of those 2 Dominique chickens … I kept looking back at the cover … & I think I maybe got a bit of that alleged confusion that the stripes of zebras are supposed to cause in other critters that bother them — like flies, or African Wild Dogs, or other predators? Hold that cover under a good light, & move it this way & that … does it kind of have a bit of an hallucinatory charm?I am looking forward to her next [& last?] book; is she still writing?

5.0 out of 5 stars Of Dominickers, Electric fans, typopgraphy and love

A.P. · March 25, 2000

When I began the audio edition of this book, I was taken aback by Bailey White's whispery, "old lady" voice, which still surprises me. But in short order it became clear that her voice and her fictional world blended perfectly and only added to the beauty of the tale. I may, of course, as a long-time resident of Tallahassee, FL, be biased, but I was charmed by the eccentric backwoodsiness of the book's characters. We come to know the bird artist who throws out her possessions as an inspiration to her painting; the fan-man, to whom a 1910 GE electric fan represents perfection; the typographer, who values the juxtaposition of letters more than his wife; Roger, the peanut expert whose portrait between two peanut plants is a recurring theme in the book; and of course the several charming old ladies whose knowledge of south Georgia flora and fauna is encyclopedic. But none of these brief descriptions really give the rich, delicious flavor of the world in which all these folk live. Any one of these characters would enrich an ordinary book. To find them all in one place is extraordinary.This slim volume has been criticized for lack of plot, but I think the plot is rich and deep. It is not, however, a dramatic, fast-paced, "page turner" type plot. Rather, we are given a glimpse into one year in the life of an extraordinary community. When the year is ended, life in the community goes on, no better and no worse than before, but unfortunately, without an audience to drink it in.

2.0 out of 5 stars Fine writing, just not my cup of tea.....

D.T.T. · September 4, 2015

The book was well written and enjoyable in some parts....It just wasn't my cup of tea...I guess the lack of a more coherent plot os what I missed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Roger falls in love, again.

M.S. · August 29, 2019

Life in a town with a peanut expert, a bird artist ( visiting) an exwife, older sisters, one who knows the spacemen are coming for her S’s and a guy with a summer son. This story is so full if fun, love and everyday fears. A laughing, wonderful read, especially if you like stories about the south, which I do!

1.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this

A.C. · August 15, 2025

A professional said the characters were loosely tied. Too loosely I,d say. I am a scientist so I was intrigued by that aspect of the book. It just went no where that I cared about. Unlikeable characters all around.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read

G. · August 13, 2021

A good character study. Helps to show that there's all types of people and how to accept and love them.

Five Stars

P. · September 3, 2017

Great item

Entertaining cast of characters

A.H. · June 26, 2024

I found the characters interesting enough that it didn’t matter very little happens in this book. The weird cast kept me engaged even though I wasn’t really sure I liked the book. I would try another by this writer.

In fairness I only read just over half of this ...

M.L. · September 29, 2014

In fairness I only read just over half of this book. The characters did not engage me and there was no plot at all. For what it's worth, I was reading it for a book discussion group and my reaction was by far the prevalent opinion.

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Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

Name: Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel
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Visit the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Store

Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

Product ID: U0679764925

Condition: New

3.8

Type: Paperback

^AED66⁵³

Price includes VAT & Import Duties

Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United States

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

Description:

Review

From the Back Cover

Anyone who has read the best-selling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to Bailey White's commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of inimitable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in south Georgia. Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely love object of half the town's women. Meet Roger's ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on things she throws away at the Dumpster ("This fan works, but makes a clicking sound and will not oscillate").
Heartbreakingly tender, often hilarious, Quite a Year for Plums is a delectable treat from a writer who has been called a national treasure.

About the Author

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Southern charm at its best!

A.C. · May 26, 2025

4.0 out of 5 stars Harsh criticism aside...I loved this book

v. · January 31, 2008

3.0 out of 5 stars What's Up With All those Ladies' Names ... or Am I just Bamboozled?

M.P. · December 24, 2024

5.0 out of 5 stars Of Dominickers, Electric fans, typopgraphy and love

A.P. · March 25, 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars Fine writing, just not my cup of tea.....

D.T.T. · September 4, 2015

The book was well written and enjoyable in some parts....It just wasn't my cup of tea...I guess the lack of a more coherent plot os what I missed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Roger falls in love, again.

M.S. · August 29, 2019

1.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to like this

A.C. · August 15, 2025

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read

G. · August 13, 2021

A good character study. Helps to show that there's all types of people and how to accept and love them.

Five Stars

P. · September 3, 2017

Great item

Entertaining cast of characters

A.H. · June 26, 2024

In fairness I only read just over half of this ...

M.L. · September 29, 2014

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Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

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Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

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About the Author

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Review

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Reviews:

Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

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Quite a Year for Plums: A Novel

Shipping Policies

Authenticity Guarantee

Product Disclaimer

Description:

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the Back Cover

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Reviews:

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