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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

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4,97498327 (4.37)202
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Showing 1-5 of 97 (next | show all)
I really liked this book. A fascinating look into turn of the century New York from a young lady's perspective. ( )
charlie68 | Jul 6, 2009 |  
Must read -- she captures the flavor of early 20th century America, the flavor of growing up, all without undue sentimentality. A book you can enjoy in your soul. ( )
ChefLindsay | Jun 14, 2009 |  
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn captures the life of the Nolan family, who live in the slums of Brooklyn, not by choice, but because they are poor. The book follows them from the opening of the 20th century through the 1920s. The central character here is Francie, the daughter of Katie and Johnny, opening when she is 11, and follows her through her teenage years.

The book is a coming-of-age novel, but at the same time, it's a look at many issues prevalent at the time which one could argue are still prevalent now. For example, beyond the immediate effects of poverty on Francie's family's life, the author has also reflected on how people both on the inside and outside of the Nolan's community viewed poverty. There is a great scene where Francie and her brother went to a "celebration for the poor of all faiths" (211) -- where the kids received little gifts, watched a play, etc., and then there was a give away of a doll. The woman gives a speech about the child giving away the doll, saying that "Little Mary is a very rich little girl," who had received a lot of dolls for Christmas, and wanted to give the doll to "some poor little Mary." All of the "poor" little girls refused to own up to being named Mary, because no one wanted to be a "symbol of all the poor little girls in the audience" (212). There's also a part where Francie, who wants to become a writer and is good at it, turns in compositions about "poverty, starvation and drunkenness" which her teacher tells her are "ugly subjects to choose.." but not to be written about. (321).

Smith also writes about the perception among many of the poor that education would lift their children out of the slums and give them a chance to have a better life than the previous generation, but at the age where they can go on to high school, many families were so poor that the kids had to get working papers to help support the family, sounding the death knell of many parents' dreams to get their children out of the slums and into a better situation, further perpetuating the cycle. I could go on.

What this book is really about is hope and perseverance. At the end of my edition is a little bio of the author, and in it, the author's daughter notes "She often said about 'Tree' that she didn't write it the way it was, but the way it should have been." I think the reason this book resonates with so many people is reflected in that statement. Would we have liked it as much if she had written A Tree Grows in Brooklyn "the way it was?" Contrast this book with Ann Petry's The Street.

I vaguely remember reading this book as a teen, but I think my recommendation would be to older readers who are a bit more life savvy. There's a lot in this book to contemplate. ( )
bcquinnsmom | May 24, 2009 | 2 vote
Classic coming-of-age from a gifted writer ( )
dugmel | May 22, 2009 |  
This is my all-time favorite book. So much happens in this novel, despite nothing happening, if you know what I mean. I'm drawn into Francie's world from the first few pages and I stay in there days after I've finished the book. I read this at least once a year and I'm glad I found it. ( )
Maggie_Rum | May 21, 2009 | 1 vote
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly. . .survives without sun, water, and seemingly without earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it.
Dedication
First words
Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York.
Quotations
Francie came away from her first chemistry lecture in a glow. In one hour she had found out that everything was made up of atoms which were in continual motion. She grasped the idea that nothing was ever lost or destroyed. Even if something was burned up or left to rot away, it did not disappear from the face of the earth; it changed into something else—gases, liquids, and powders. Everything, decided Francie after that first lecture, was vibrant with life and there was no death in chemistry. She was puzzled as to why learned people didn’t adopt chemistry as a religion.
Last words
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Book description

Amazon.com (ISBN 0061120073, Paperback)

Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:04 -0400)

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