A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.)
by Betty Smith
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Book Reviews of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.)
Book Review: It's hard to think of a 20th century novel that deserves more to be part of the American "canon"
Summary: 5 Stars
It's the summer of 1912 and Francie Nolan of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, is eleven years ago. She and her parents and her ten-year-old brother, Neely, are a poor family and they know it. Her beloved Irish father, Johnny, is a part-time singing waiter and a nearly full-time alcoholic. Her petite, black-eyed Austrian mother, Katie, is the janitor ("janitress" here) for three tenement buildings, in return for their rent on a small flat. But with all this, they get by, though it's nearly always a struggle. Everybody likes the dapper Johnny, who seems incapable of doing anything right. Everybody respects the steel-cored Katie, who is equally incapable of making a misstep. This entire book could have been written about either of them and the reader probably would be just as satisfied. But Francie is the focus: Intelligent, thoughtful, observant, imaginative, dogged, tough -- she's all those things. She's also lonely and pretty much friendless. The narrative follows her through the next six years as she grows up physically, mentally, and emotionally, changing from a ragged street kid who collects junk to sell for pennies into a mature, confident young woman of seventeen who has skipped high school and yet is going off to college, having passed the regents' exams on the strength of summer courses, and without the benefit of high school. Francie is one of those kids who understands things. The book isn't exactly a novel, in the sense that there's no overarching plotline and nothing much of importance happens. It's difficult to answer the standard inquiry: "What's it about?" It's more of an oil painting in words, a portrait of the Brooklyn of a century ago and the people who lived there and who, with all their tribulations, still thought it the most wonderful city in the world. The style is very plain and straightforward, yet quietly poetic (which is partly why it's always included on school reading lists), but Smith spins her story out in such a way that you can't wait to find out what happens next to her characters. What holds everything together are the book's universal themes of family, interdependence, determination, and the power of learning, as well as a profound realism regarding both the good things in life and the bad. Betty Smith herself grew up largely as Francie did -- she originally wrote the book as a memoir but was convinced by her editor to recast it as a bildungsroman -- and she went on to do memorable things in literature. The reader will have no doubt that Francie (who no doubt has added "bildungsroman" to her vocabulary by the end of the book) is headed for a similar future. This book and the people in it -- and Brooklyn -- will stay with you for a long time.Book Review: Lullaby from Brooklyn
Summary: 5 Stars
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith isn't a novel about a dysfunctional family. It is a lullaby of a quiet corner in the city that never sleeps. It is a lullaby that whispers the joys, hardships, and love of a family that will forever be in my heart.
The story revolves around Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. She is one of the only true Americans on her blocks and is proud of it. Living on little food, Francie quenches her thirst for life through books and school. Her mother is a traditional housewife with a twist of rebellion. Her father is a man as magical and loving as he is drunk, living through a kaleidascope of wonder that he teaches his children to adore.
Everything about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was utterly enchanting. I truly connected with each character. It doesn't matter whether you're an eager young author, someone who has experienced a tragic loss, or simply someone who loves life, I believe there is a little bit of everyone in Francie Nolan. Everyone has that childlike need to live their dreams in an attempt to escape an imperfect reality. In fact, all of the Smith's characters are so terrific that it is hard to believe that they are 'ction. Their attitude, togetherness, and love are something that every family should strive to imitate. By the end of the novel, I began to miss the family that I had grown up with as if they were my own.
Betty Smith's writing is full of wonderful portraits of the place she grew up. She displays the glory of New York City at a time when immigrants poured into America. Her prose make us feel the pride of Francie's neighbors when they leave their homeland, and the freedom they felt as their boats docked. Yet, along with these beautiful images, she portrays the struggles of so many people living in the small crowded islands of New York City. Betty Smith shows us the loves and losses of a new nation by painting a picture to rival Picasso.
The chronicle of the Nolans' life was a truly wonderful and enlightening experience. It is so enchanting to travel alongside the family through their trials and celebrations alike. I will admit to several tear streaked pages and advise anyone who reads this book to have a box of tissues handy. I will end with my favorite part of the book. The tree is growing outside the window as Francie looks out at it for the last time. About the tree, Smith writes: "It lived! And nothing could destroy it." Those sentences remind me that nothing ever truly dies. Everything and everyone will live on forever in the memory of all who come to love it.
- Victoria Testa
Book Review: Kimberly B.
Summary: 5 Stars
The title of the book that am reading is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Bettie Smith. The main topic of this book as it states in the foreword."The best anyone can say is that it is a story about what it means to be human." Represents that the novel about a little girl named Francie and her little brother named Neeley that wasn't just about how they pulled through in a poor neighborhood. It was about the real life struggles families have to go through.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a novel. The author of this novel was born on December 15, 1896 with the name of Elisabeth Wehner. She married young with a law student from the university of Michigan. She then had 2 daughters named, Nancy and Mary. She wanted to finish her schooling but she didn't finish high school. Although she was able to take classes and she was focusing in journalism, literature, and drama. The foreward states that the novel isn't just a book about "social issues" nor "class struggles". Its a novel when you read it you recognize yourself.
The main topic on this novel is that Nolan family of 4. Living in Willamsburg, Brooklyn. Trying to make ends meet with the father, Johnny Nolan, being the head of the family. Working as a singing waiter, And drinking his tips away. The Nolan family were very poor. they bought penny worth stale food.
This work addresses to many audiences, but i think the problem relates to a particular audience which is the ungrateful audience. The type of audience that have enough and wanting more.
At first the book confused me a little. The reason for this because the way the story was written in which i liked. But it started with Francie and how her life was. Then the next chapter it was about Francie's meeting. i got that part but the part where it was a chin scratcher was when the part where Mary and Sissy came in. Until I read on and understood that Sissy was Katie's sister, and Mary was her mother.
The book in general is great. But the part that I loved. Was the part where Francie went up to the fire escape and started to read on a Saturday. I like this part because it made me understand the difference between kids from then and now.
I completely concur with previous reviews. In which they state "A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and true one. It cuts right to the heart of life..." I recommend this book for all audiences to read.
Book Review: Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a Bugs Bunny cartoon that has the rabbit running afoul of some dogs in the New York City. Trapped in an alley, Bugs grabs a book that is nearby for some meager protection; the dogs see the title, perk up joyously and run away. The name of the book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I have to wonder if more people have watched the cartoon than read the book that provided its punch line. Up until recently, I was only in that former group, but not anymore.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is Betty Smith's semi-autobiographical novel of life in a poor family in the early 1900s. As the story opens, it is 1912 and Francie Nolan - the protagonist - is eleven years old. She lives in a small apartment with her father, mother and brother. Her father Johnny is an amiable enough fellow who nonetheless has sunk into alcoholism. Rarely employed - and becoming less employable - he is unable to be the family breadwinner. Katie, his wife, married him more out of lust than love and now is suffering the consequences: although still young and beautiful, she is suffering from the burden of holding the family together. Neely, Francie's younger-by-a-year brother, still clings to childhood.
This is the story of Francie's life, and like any life story, it is not driven by plot as much as character. We see Francie's development from child to young adulthood, while coping with the many problems (and occasional joys) that accompany an impoverished life. Attending bad schools, going to church, working to support the family at meager wages, even contending with a psychopath: these are some of the events that occur in Francie's life.
This is an excellent book, well worth the "classic" designation often given to it. Smith's strengths are with her strong characters and wonderful writing. Francie, of course, is the centerpiece; a girl who is gifted but may not be able to exploit those gifts in her poor environment. Yes, there are sad moments in this book, but it is not really downbeat; one can imagine an adult Francie looking back at many of these events with a bit of wistfulness.
Compared to other "great" novels of yesteryear - such as Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird or the Grapes of Wrath, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn seems to not get the same attention anymore. It is, however, a book that is a pleasure to read.
Book Review: Brooklyn life in the finest prose
Summary: 5 Stars
Of all Brooklyn literature, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", has probably the most charm and magnetism for everyone, who reached for it at least once.
The story of the Nolan family from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, comes to life in the book - and the novel is really heartfelt, very much because of simple, but poetic, suggestive and emotionally engaging language. Betty Smith managed to write a timeless piece, not only because of what she wrote about, but largely due to the lack of mannerisms and phrases fashionable in the 1940's, when she wrote "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".
Francie Nolan, a gifted girl who loves books and decides to be a writer (an alter ego of the author), who is 11 years old at the beginning of the book, is a daughter of Katie, a strong, pragmatic, honest, down-to-earth woman of Austrian descent, who supports her family being a cleaning lady, and Johnny, an Irish, heavy drinking romantic, earning some money now and then as a singing waiter. Francie has a year younger brother, Neely, and although the children are often hungry and cold, and try to earn money, selling scrap metal, they have the love of their parents, their own good nature, and a happy childhood as a result.
The plot follows Francie from 11 to 16, when she goes to college, but also goes back in retrospective as far as the childhood and family lives of Katie and Johnny. Francie is at the center of the story, growing from a dreamy, shy child into a bright, imaginative woman. The lives of the Nolan nuclear family and numerous relatives and neighbors are described in a series of anecdotic pieces, which could make very good short stories, like snapshots of everyday life of the poor neighborhood, where people are resourceful and full of character. These stories, however, are masterfully tied together into this brilliant novel, which made me laugh and cry, moving me to the core, and teaching important lessons of the essence of humanity and American spirit.
Betty Smith wrote a wonderful novel which will inspire generations to come, and immortalized the atmosphere of Brooklyn at the beginning of twentieth century. Thinking of this book simply as of "coming of age" novel does not do it justice - it is much more than that.