Cookiesue9x read and liked Susan's review of Lit: A Memoir:

"I've been a big fan of Mary Karr ever since reading "The Liars' Club". Karr's third memoir covers her dealing with her childhood as an adult, her slide into alcoholism, and her unlikely turn toward faith (specifically, Catholicism). "

Cookiesue9x read and liked Alissa's review of Lit: A Memoir:

"I haven't read Karr's previous books, so I didn't know what I was in for, and this book (which I did not expect to like) blew me away. Without giving too much away, I hope, it's exactly what a conversion narrative ought to be.

I plan to r...more I haven't read Karr's previous books, so I didn't know what I was in for, and this book (which I did not expect to like) blew me away. Without giving too much away, I hope, it's exactly what a conversion narrative ought to be.

I plan to review it for one magazine or another soon.(less) "

Cookiesue9x read and liked Kathy Kubik's review of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn :

"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...more 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.

"There is a certain kind of tree that grows throughout the neighborhood, called the Tree of Heaven by some, since it grows wherever its seeds land—in old lots, trash heaps, and even cement. It grows only in the tenement districts, where the poor people live."

Summary:

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.

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