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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An intensely personal coming of age story set during hard times in NYC.
I read this too many years after the author had died. I lived on the streets she wrote about. I think I lived above the candy store on Lorimer St. I would have loved to talk/write to her. Opportunities missed. I really loved this novel. Hopefully, as I grow older, it will stay in my memory.
A great book. The characters become a part of your life.
Truly a classic. I read it when I was in Junior High school, just reread it and got so many new insights.
Great story of growing up in poverty in the United States
I loved this book.
There’s a reason that this is a classic and on the PBS top 100 favorite books. It’s a great piece of historical fiction.
I love the early history of the emigrants who built these cities. They had backbone and grit
Obviously a classic of a specific time snd place.
A true classic
And not so wonderful characters. The first time I read this was around the time I read Angela’s Ashes. Consequently I was not thrilled with alcoholic Irish fathers. I read it again years later for a book club. It is still a well-written down-to-earth story about life and coming of age.
True to life, and surprisingly show how much America changed and at the same time did not change in over 100 years
I really enjoyed this book. It takes place at the beginning of the 20th century and it’s about a poor, young, girl named Francie and her family who live in Brooklyn, NY. It’s a heart warming story of Francies childhood as she comes of age. I highly recommend this book!
I read this as a teenager, probably 50 years ago.. It is TIMELESS. A wonderful way to look at America’s past, and helped me to truly appreciate my lot in life. Such an enduring Americana piece of writing!!
Great book to understand family life in the early 20th century.
I had heard this was a fantastic book so decided to give it a try. It did not disappoint. Good story of the time period. I found things in it that informed me of why we do what we do now. I gave it 4 stars only because I wasn’t sad it was over when I finished it……my criteria for a 5 star book.
I loved this book when I was fourteen and read it for the first time. I could identify with the main character then. I just finished rereading the book at 71-years-old and had a different perspective, but I still loved the book and identified with the main character as well as with her mother.
To see the world from a character that isn’t rich, and was young was a great read when I was younger. SInce then and I am older I see how realistic the story is and how a young girl transformed into an adult and still maintaining her youth like charm.
Written at high school level but still moving and a good realistic view of new York in the 1940s.
Nice if you’re in a nostalgic mood.