Search - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

This book is a great read.I loved the main character Francie and if you enjoy reading books about a person growing up you will love this one.Her life is so believable it makes you believe that if you want something and you persevere it will work out in the end. *****5 stars

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.

A wonderful story, should be required reading in school! I read this book on recommendation of my cousin, and boy do I owe her thanks! She said it made her think of how our ancestors probably grew up in the early 1900s in Detroit, and I couldn't agree more. Betty Smith does a WONDERFUL job at portraying the perfect amount of detail to make you feel like you are the one walking the streets and bargaining for a hat or piece of meat, or walking 12 blocks one way to school. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows Francie Nolan, beginning at age 11, in Brooklyn, New York. She loves her drunk father and is desperate to win the affection of her mother, who favors her brother Neely. She absorbs the world around her with an awe that most 40 year olds lack.

This book is a wonderful description of life in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, but it can be applied to ANY city, and makes a strong statement on the hope offered to the immigrants who came to the United States. The story emphasizes quite clearly the value of reading and a good education, but most importantly the strength of family and the dreams that sustain people. As Francie learns, "there had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background it flashing glory." All people, young and old, will relish Francie's story and hold its message in their hearts forever.

I ordered A Tree Grows in Brooklyn because it appears on a book club's summer list. I vaguely remembered reading it in high school. Reading it now is a revelation. What a wonderfully dense, vibrant picture of the lives of the immigrant groups on Long Island. If you haven't read Tree in twenty years, pick it up again.

I just Adore these characters! I am so sad to have to say goodbye to Francie. This is one of those stories that will stick with me for a long time.

"Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute."

Beautiful story, but sad.