A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York..." (more)
Key Phrases: press clipping bureau, brown bowl, Tree Grows, Betty Smith, Miss Garnder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Review

"A profoundly moving novel, and an honest and a true one. It cuts right to the heart of life." -- --Orville Prescott,New York Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Perennial Classics; 1st Perennial Classics Ed edition (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006092988X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060929886
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (572 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,569 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Coming-of-Age Book That Touches Your Heart, September 8, 2001

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Francie Nolan is a character who will long be remembered by anyone who reads "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Bright but lonely, poor but resourceful, Francie Nolan is captured from ages 11 to 16 with poignancy and love. Francie is her daddy's "prima donna" and she treasures his love while fighting to win her mother's. Although she never achieves the place in her mother's heart that her brother holds, her strength and sheer perserverance guide her through difficult times. Like the sturdy tree that grows outside her window and survives all catastrophes, Francie Nolan survives poverty, lack of formal education, sexual assault, extreme loneliness, and lost love.

The reader first meets Francie at age 11 when, as an inquisitive young girl, her favorite time of the day is on Saturday when she can go to the library then rush home with her treasure and read the afternoon away on the fire escape of her Brooklyn tenement. As a young girl, she feels "rich" when she receives bits of chalk and stubby pencils her mother and father bring home from their janitoring job at a local school. She finds simple pleasures in her life, like being allowed to sleep in the front room on Saturday night and watch the busy street below. You will ache to go back in time and be Francie's best friend as she battles loneliness and rejection by her peers but learns to live a solitary life. But, like the tree, she is ready to burst into bloom and when she does it is beautiful to read about.

This book is a wonderful description of life in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn and 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." Young teens and mature women alike will relish Francie's story and hold its message in their hearts forever.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wowing Historical Fiction Classic, August 9, 2008

By	LexiJane (New Market, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.) (Paperback)

I am in total awe after reading this book. In the beginning I thought it was going to be a boring and long novel. But throughout my reading I became to grow more attached to the story. The main character Francie was an intriguing and delightful creation that anyone would want as their best friend, should she not be a fictional person. I enjoyed reading how the poor family made ends meet and continued surviving when it seemed they couldn't hang on much longer. It seems that you shouldn't find it entertaining to read of suffering, but the author writes it in such a ingenious way as to that you're really reading about the magnificence of life, living, and death. As the family encounters dilemma after dilemma you find yourself encased in the wonder of how they do it. Throughout all the sadness and suffering the Nolans are still kind and considerate, loving and caring, fair and just; overall good people! Don't get me wrong, this is not a sad story, although some parts are on the sadder side. This is a marvelous writing about why people live and how. It shows a young girl growing up and changing into a woman. I was so in tune with the story I found myself laughing, crying, cheering, and feeling scared! The Nolans are resourceful and caring people, although they do have their faults. You learn about them from birth to middle aged and curiously watch them change, grow, and develop their ways. You see where each person gets their character traits from and why they do certain things. The setting is early twentieth century Brooklyn, NY. The Nolans live in a neighborhood of old flats. Electricity has not yet been invented and the value of the dollar is way higher than the present. Its interesting reading about how their insurance was twenty-five cents and that four people could eat on ten cents a day! The author provides you with outstanding descriptions of looks, feelings, and mood as to that you feel you are really there. You feel as if you have known the characters forever and are close friends with all of them. This is because you learn more about them throughout the story as if you really were their friends, and they were alive and you got to know them better as time goes on. While you read this book, you will discover how lucky we are, and what some people went through to cope with the daily mandatory needs of humans. I am completely convinced anyone who reads this book will fall in love with the gentle rhythym of the flowing sentences. When I finished I didn't want it to end, the author could've kept writing until Francie died and you would've ever get bored. Yet all books have to end. With a touch of history, I am positive anyone who reads this will be more than satisfied. This novel definitely deserves more than five stars!

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book cuts true and deep into the human soul, April 9, 2000

By	Megan Cremer (USA) - See all my reviews

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn By Betty Smith

Betty Smith is well knows for her many works, but the one book that almost everyone knows about, that she wrote is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In this book she shows herself to be an author of great depth and knowledge into the human soul. All her words come strait from the heart to make a book that engulfs all who read it. This book gives great insight into life; it shows why many people strive to become someone better and how some people are able to craw up to a better station in live against tremendous odds as well as forces working against them. A tree Grows in Brooklyn touches every ones hearts. It is about a little girl, Mary Frances Nolan (also known as Francie), growing up in the poorer part of Brooklyn with a drunken, singing waiter for a father, yet this father somehow always make her feel so special and unique. She lives with her father, a severely realistic mother, and a brother who is always favored. She is treated poorly throughout school because she is so different and independent. Even at birth she was thought of as "different"; Francie was born with a caul which was supposed to indicate that the child was set apart to do great things in the world. Francie always kept to herself and was the silent studious type. In fast she entertained herself with books from the local library; she promised herself that one day read all the books in the library, she started this goal by reading a book-a-day. Her brother's birth, not one year after hers, doesn't help this division at all; she feels even more disconnected and different from the rest of the world at Neeley birth, fore he is the favored son and get all the attention that Francie lacked growing up. At a very young age Francie learned how important money is as well as the division is society caused by money and education. Because of this division and favoritism, Francie becomes the sole provider for the family after the death of her father. She goes to work straight after graduation from grade school and never gets to have the pleasure and luxury of a high school diploma, but that doesn't stop her from her dreams. Her dreams of moving up in the world, to a place were you don't have to worry about where your next meal comes from. True, this sounds like a ridicules dream considering that today this is a requirement from everyone, but at this point in time very few people, without wealth, were able to get a higher education or even be able to go to high school. Nothing can stop Francie from getting her dream. This wonderful book cuts right to the heart of life. It show the true American dream; the dream of higher education and a better live for everyone. If you don't read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you will be denying yourself a rich experience of the true American dream. A dream that has made this country what it is today.