A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick
The beloved American classic about a young girl’s coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century.
From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for the often harsh life of Williamsburg demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric … spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric behavior—such as her father Johnny’s taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy’s habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce—no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans’ life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are tenderly threaded with family connectedness and raw with honesty. Betty Smith has, in the pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life-from “junk day” on Saturdays, when the children of Francie’s neighborhood traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Betty Smith has artfully caught this sense of exciting life in a novel of childhood, replete with incredibly rich moments of universal experiences—a truly remarkable achievement for any writer.
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Interesting this is one of Betty Smith’s only books. It is a bit of a sad tale; but worth the read.
I suspect every woman faces difficult choices in their lifetime. This story is one of the great reads.
Loved this book. One of my all time favorite books! Will read again!
This book was selected for the All Urbandale Reads program in my city. Seeing as how it’s such a well loved book, I fully expected to love it as well. Unfortunately, I seem to be in the minority. I did not love this book…I barely liked it. For me, it was dull and dragged on and on and on. There were a few parts that I loved, or that made me …
This book is a classic for a reason! Our book club read it recently and the discussion was amazing.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my favorites. I re-read it every ten years or so. Am now enjoying Audible version with Kate Burton.
This is such a good book! One of my favorites…worth reading once a year at least!
I think this book is absolutely amazing.
Story starts off slow but eventually I was impressed with the details the author describes about life in the early 1900s, especially through the eyes of a young girl. This novel is often described as a “coming of age” story; honestly, I usually don’t enjoy those types of stories. But with “Tree,” I felt a connection to Francie and that made all …