A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

published

September 1st 1998 (first published 1943) by Perennial Classics

edit

binding

Paperback, 496 pages

isbn

006092988X (isbn13: 9780060929886)

description

Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brookly...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | compare prices ...

discuss this book

topics	replies	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: Your Latest Splurge	3421	1406	6 minutes ago
The Next Best Boo...: What are you reading?	5757	2048	13 minutes ago
Pick-a-Shelf: Historical Fiction Books Read in November	30	65	29 minutes ago
The Next Best Boo...: Top 5 Favorite Fiction books	119	461	6 hours, 38 min ago
50 Books 2008: Tiff's 50+ Books	2	11	1 day ago, 10:35PM

new topic | see all topics »

groups with this book

view all groups »

friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER

750 books | 621 voters

More...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 22243)

all | this edition

Julia rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

08/17/07

bookshelves: the-classics

Read in November, 2006

Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" has been passed down through at least three or four generations and is highly regarded as a classic novel perfect for any young adult bent on entering adulthood and escaping from the gaping clutches of a complicated childhood.
While it was not for those reasons that I first picked up "Brooklyn," I came to regard it as one of the finest books that I had ever read. At first glance, it is a very deceitful book: short; words spaced nicel...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

1 comments

Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0060736267)

04/04/08

bookshelves: american-literature, book-club, classics, favorites

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

Francie stood on tiptoe and stretched her arms wide. "Oh, I want to hold it all!" she cried. "I want to hold the way the night is - cold without wind. And the way the stars are so near and shiny. I want to hold all of it tight until it hollers out, 'Let me go! Let me go!'"

The title of this novel refers to a tree that grows persistently up through the concrete and harsh conditions of a poor tenement neighborhood in early 1900s Brooklyn. But it is also a metaphor for...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

add a comment

Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

04/27/08

Read in April, 2008

a combination of charlotte bronte, charles dickens, and theodore dreiser...or any one of the american realists...
suffers a bit from the pauper syndrome, for some reason this affliction only effected books written from say 1800 to 1940...
also a variation on the ordeal novel...(see comments on dave egger's 'what is the what')...
around 200 pages in and francie is more of a figure of pain and sorrow than a character i feel i really know...she feels like a mop that smith is using to soak up all...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

Casey rated it:

06/30/08

bookshelves: 2008, children-or-young-adult

{Yup, I'm reading it AGAIN.}

I sob, and I mean sob, every time I read this book. It's such a simple story--Francie Nolan is a smart little girl who's trying to find beauty in her sometimes ugly, always poverty-stricken life. Her adored father is wonderful, but too plagued by his own demons to support his family. Her mother loves her children fiercely but is often harsh because she thinks it's her job to keep them grounded in reality (oh, and she seems to love Francie's brother more). Her ...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

3 comments

Ebookwormy rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

05/25/08

bookshelves: 1-character-forming, carp-500

This is one of those books I wasn't sure I would like until I got all the way to the end. I came to love Francie Nolan early in the story and wanted so much for her to fulfill the promise to BE the heroine; which she does. That alone makes this a book to read and re-read. Francie's parents, Katie and Johnny Nolan are captivating and complex in that they each contain admirable traits as well as crippling faults.

Initial exposure to the crushing poverty in which Francie lives is disturbing, and...more This is one of those books I wasn't sure I would like until I got all the way to the end. I came to love Francie Nolan early in the story and wanted so much for her to fulfill the promise to BE the heroine; which she does. That alone makes this a book to read and re-read. Francie's parents, Katie and Johnny Nolan are captivating and complex in that they each contain admirable traits as well as crippling faults.

Initial exposure to the crushing poverty in which Francie lives is disturbing, and generally created a feeling of gratitute in me -- both for myself and that we have the ability to provide food for our children. This book is rich in wisdom. Themes of the importance of family and loving imperfect people abound, as well as struggling with discrimination, loneliness and fairness. Perception is examined effectively in the context of complex relationships. Overcoming poverty is, of course, a theme; some do it through education, some through marriage, all through hard work and perseverence, and some never do.

Some of Francie's observations and conclusions are not wise, particularly in her younger years, but she always manages to right the ship before it tips.

The last section, as Francie matures to young adulthood, was a bit weaker in comparison, but by that time, I was already hooked. Weaker how? While the storyline remains strong, the characters seem to lack the depth of those developed in previous sections. It's not a fatal flaw, but it was a bit disappointing. This also contributes to a feeling that the ending is a bit contrived (partly because it ends positively). I wish the characters of the final section were a bit more developed, particularly the strong male characters that emerge, as this would have made it even more powerful.

This book has a distinctly feminine touch as the entire narrative explores interwoven relationships among Francie's family and the neighborhood. This approach creates a masterful work that may not be as interesting to male readers. I can picture this as a great discussion book for mothers and (adolescent) daughters....less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comments

Dana rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

02/01/08

bookshelves: to-re-read

I remembering reading this book in--it was probably the fifth grade-- for Book-It, a program that encouraged reading in elementary schools by rewarding kids with Pizza Hut pan pizza. I was a fat kid and, like most kids, fat or otherwise, I liked pizza (it just so happened I could typically down a few more slices then the average adolescent). Thus, the affair with books and compulsion to collect as many stars on my Book-it pin as possible began.

I remember this book in particular as one of...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Beth rated it:

(review of isbn 0060001941)

03/20/08

Read in March, 2008

I think my mom once said that this was her favorite book, and yet somehow I hadn’t read it until now. In my early teens, I remember coming across a paperback edition that had been lying around the house … and not making it past the first couple pages. The writing was way over my head (which had been addled by too much fluff reading of Baby-sitters Club, probably).

It’s probably for the best, though, for while this book centers around the young girl Francie Nolan, this coming-of-age st...more I think my mom once said that this was her favorite book, and yet somehow I hadn’t read it until now. In my early teens, I remember coming across a paperback edition that had been lying around the house … and not making it past the first couple pages. The writing was way over my head (which had been addled by too much fluff reading of Baby-sitters Club, probably).

It’s probably for the best, though, for while this book centers around the young girl Francie Nolan, this coming-of-age story is appropriately shelved in the adult section — for some language (I really am such a prude when it comes to cursing, but while this book had it sprinkled liberally throughout, I didn’t find that it bothered me much — the writing was that good) and certainly for “thematic elements.”

So. What is this book about? I couldn’t begin to summarize. The storyline is hardly even a cohesive story at all — not with a formulaic introduction-conflict-resolution, anyway. It’s more a series of varied vignettes, ranging from humorous to harrowing, wise to whimsical. It seemed like in every one of the fifty-some chapters, I’d find some paragraph that spoke to my soul. When I’d (finally) close the book for the day, I’d sigh contentedly, as though reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was like the pickle Francie enjoyed on page 45: “She didn’t exactly eat it. She just had it.” Yes, that was kind of like my reading — I didn’t exactly read it; I just absorbed it.

Okay, so really: what is this book about? Well, it’s about a family in Brooklyn in the early twentieth century, trying to make ends meet in impoverished conditions — and trying to be happy in spite of their circumstances. The characters were very likable (which, for me, often translates to good, morally sound people — basically true in this case, despite some questionable habits) and yet simultaneously very real. They struggle throughout almost the entire course of the book, scraping up a penny or two for a tin-can bank — the hope for a better future for the children Francie and Neeley — while going hungry and cold in the meantime.

Yet somehow, though they are destitute, you can’t but help feel these Nolans (and Rommelys — the mother’s family) are rich in the things that matter: in moral courage and in their relationships with one another … and, yes, in happiness. Francie wisely reflects on page 457:

“People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.”

It’s all the little, uncomplicated things of this story that make it a happy one — a book worth reading … and one that will stay with me for some time, I’m sure....less

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comments

Maggie rated it:

07/12/07

"Dear God, let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be happy; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well-dressed. Let me be sincere- be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

"Don't say t...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comments

Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

04/09/08

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: anyone

This book was beautifully written. It was uplifting and entertaining. It was also deep and made me think a lot. The main character, Francie, was an extraordinary young girl but also believable. I really enjoyed this book.

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comments

Kathy rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

07/08/08

Read in January, 2006

OPENING LINE: "Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York."

I found a beautiful hardcover first printing of this book in a used bookstore in South Haven, Michigan. I remember that my writing mentor, Carol said this was a favorite book of hers, and I had wanted to read it since. I am almost done with this book, I love it. The opening introduces the most important symbol in the book, which is the tree referred to in the title. I believe the tree represents hope.

"Th...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Nian rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

07/01/08

Read in June, 2008

Quite an enjoyable book.

Loved:

1. The characters. My favorite was Francie, of course. We’re both avid readers.

2. The story about growing up and everything.

3. The messages about family, love, relationships, responsibility, being rich/poor, and etc.

Disliked:

1. The structure. This whole book is divided into parts titled Book One, Book Two, and so on. It started off with Francie being eleven years old, and into Book Two, it went back to Katie and Johnny’s era, where ...more Quite an enjoyable book.

Loved:

1. The characters. My favorite was Francie, of course. We’re both avid readers.

2. The story about growing up and everything.

3. The messages about family, love, relationships, responsibility, being rich/poor, and etc.

Disliked:

1. The structure. This whole book is divided into parts titled Book One, Book Two, and so on. It started off with Francie being eleven years old, and into Book Two, it went back to Katie and Johnny’s era, where they first met, what happened, etc. It’s a personal dislike of mine, but I hate flashbacks. Okay, not really flashbacks, per se, but like when the author flips the hourglass and takes you back in time after she has already talked about the present for a few chapters or so. You either start with the pass and end with the present or start with the present and end like that. It’s the logical order. For this book, as soon as I got up to Book Two, I was like, “When will we get back to Franice being eleven?” I liked those years. I didn’t want to have to wait till I’d finished a hundred pages or so just to get back to the present. My interest would have already wandered by then.

2. Johnny Nolan. I don’t care how realistic he is, being a drunk and all, but I absolutely hated the guy. I wished he could have dropped dead a few chapters after his appearance. I don’t think I’ve ever harbored such hateful ideas about a fictional character before—okay, I have, for Voldemort in the Harry Potter books. But he was at least smart.

3. The ending. Is it just me, or did it feel really hushed how Francie suddenly grew up and wanted a sweetheart? Or when her mother wanted to marry the sergeant? I thought the author could have focused a bit more on the ending than what she wrote about in Book Two, but that’s just me.

Out of all the required books we’d have to read these past two years, I’d say this was the most favorable—yes, even more so than The Catcher in the Rye, which I thought was pretty bland and persistent-but-not-in-a-good-way. The book was trying to teach you about life, but not really done in a condescending way that makes you think you have to act/behave a certain way if something like that gets thrown at you. ...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Melody rated it:

(review of isbn 0899663036)

05/13/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in May, 2008

Reading this book was a little like watching an old Shirley Temple movie, with the person playing Shirley’s role a little less adorable – I was certainly entertained – but I was also taught many a lesson during the course of the story which was filled with more than a few clichés. The main lesson, of course is depicted by the tree –

“Some people called it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lot...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

Brian rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

03/22/08

Read in March, 2008

recommended to Brian by: My wife and daughter
recommends it for: anyone

This was a really engrossing book that I had a hard time putting down. I started this book by listening to the unabridged version of it read on CD's by the actress Kate Burton. When I traveled to Los Angeles on business during the week of March 10, I brought along the CD's and as I drove all over Los Angeles (spending time in LA, Kent and Orange counties) I listened to the CD's. Then in the evenings, after taking care of all my email and voicemail messages, I read the book. It really helped ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Kelley rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

09/17/08

recommends it for: girls 15 plus

Warning, contains spoilers.

My Dad's birthday is March 17. Once again, I found myself drawn to listening to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn again just before his birthday. It seems to be an emotional habit. Once again I am joined to my fictional kindred Francie Nolan. I am not like her in every way, but the parallels continue to astonish me. How did Betty Smith know?

Francie and Kelley:
Irish Catholic charming musical handsome daddy
Alcoholic daddy— mine had 3 DUIs
Dad who took temp work...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

3 comments

Alison rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

03/02/08

bookshelves: classics, rgbookclub

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: book lovers, adolescent girls, anyone who feels defeated

I didn't think I was going to like this book. Not before I read it, but as I was reading it. Although the story was interesting and somewhat engaging, I thought the writing was a little one-dimensional, and honestly, a little flat. Some of the characters seemed to fit too neatly into their little boxes...the prim piano teacher, the penny-pinching butchers and shop-keepers, the tough but kind cops.

But, then as I got toward the end, and Francie began to work a real job and help support her...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

*Christie* rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

05/12/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone

***SPOILER ALERT*** I really loved this book. I think the thing I loved most about it was that nothing really happened. It showed the beauty of a life. It made me think about how much we give our children that they don't need. I loved the part where Francie and Neeley were talking about their baby sister Laurie and how she would never know poverty or the life they'd had, and they pittied her. I think of my own brother Robert and me selling painted sticks door to door, and I pity my brother...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comments

Jonathan rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

11/04/07

bookshelves: 11thgradebooksread

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: to anyone in the city

This book was on my summer reading list because it was a required reading. I found that although this is a required book, it is also very interesting. I found that I could relate the mentality of the young girl because she was always curious about things. For one, I was very curious about things and used to ask my father a lot of questions. Through this method, I learned and became smarter.
The book is about a young girl whose family is new to America. They learn to adapt to the...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Liza rated it:

(review of isbn 0061120073)

09/17/07

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: girls young and old

This was a great story about a girl, Francie growing up in early 20th century Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The story was very honest and surprisingly candid for the time. Francie's also honest about her aunt Sissy's wild side which showed that regardless of the time period, people haven't changed for a century., in

The story is told from Francie's point of view. She and her brother Neely live with their parents in a small apartment. The daily challenges of surviving are told so well that you f...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Jeni rated it:

(review of isbn 044084116X)

08/13/07

Read in August, 2007

I don't know how I never read this book when I was younger. It was fantastic. Instead of voraciously reading it, I actually took to reading small portions at a time to prolong it's greatness. Luckily, I got it at a thrift store for $0.50 so I am free to enjoy it forever. There was something about the main character, Francie, that was very easy to relate to.

"There had to be dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background its flashing glory."

"I d...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment