June 29th, 2005
Book #16
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I loved this book. Loved. Very excellent.
This book, apparently, is an American classic. And I see why. It is the story of a young girl, Francie, growing up in Brooklyn, child of the child of immigrants. They are poor but seeking greater things. The plot is not traditional—this is not a typical story, with exposition, climax, and denoument. Rather, it is memoir-like, meandering. As Francie grows, the storytelling grows along with her. Her childhood is filled with the observations of a child; as she gets older, the writing reflects her age, becoming sharper, tighter, more adult.
One of the critical “characters” in this novel is Brooklyn, the Brooklyn of early 20th-century immigration, the Brooklyn of poor, working class men and women, the Brooklyn of Tammany Hall. It is lovingly, but fairly, treated by Smith. I think anyone whose family came to America at that time should pick up this book for no other reason than to feel these descriptions.
Highly recommended.
comments
This is one of those books I keep meaning to read, and then I forget about it. This goes on the list.
Ooooooh. I LOVED that book.
Somehow, when I first glanced at the book title, I thought it was A Tree Grows Bubbly.
No, it didn’t make sense to me either.
those are stupid comments