A girl and a tree… which one really has the deeper roots?  Which one really is the stronger?  ~ Sheila

Synopsis

A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900’s, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens’ backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead.

When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.

My Thoughts:

A tree grows in Brooklyn was a pleasant read for a classic.  By saying that I mean that some of the classics we have read in the past have just been hard reads – hard to understand and hard to get into.  This books writing was smooth and I could follow the story easily.  The book is centered around Francie and her family in the back drop of World War One.  Told from the perspective of Francie, I quickly was engrossed in the absolute and utter level of poverty they were.

Food is a big theme in this book and while they had very little, Francie’s mom Katie could work wonders with it.  There is always stale bread and crushed pies, and bone marrow to spread on bread as a treat after the bone has been used in soups.  Meat was a rare treat.  This book reminded me a bit of The Book Thief as far as the poverty and making the best of what they have.

I enjoyed the theme of the book, yet found it for the most part non eventful.  The book goes page by page through Francie’s life, what she sees in her parents (her dad drinks too much and her mom works hard cleaning homes to make ends meet).  You see Francie is school and you learn her love for books and for learning.  The book carries you through Francie’s life and through this I see comparable to the tree that grows outside their home… the tree seems to represent Francie – strong and yet with struggles, continuing to grow.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was published in 1943. The book sold 300,000 copies in the first six weeks after it was published.  How amazing is that!  I find it astonishing that I have never read this book before.  This as well as most of the other greats were never required reading in our local schools.

This was our book club read for October.  Each October we pick a Classic and this was the pick for 2009.  We gathered at my home and we potlucked around the theme of the book.  I made minestrone and strata, which is an egg bake with sautéed onion and mushroom and peppers.  It was actually pretty good and  it was fun to cook for the group.  Some of the other book club members brought bread pudding, and desserts.  We even had Klondike Bars in honor of the Klondike dance that takes place in the book.

We found Katie’s sister Sissy  the most colorful character by far.  She was truly a woman who was 100% true to who she was and even today you have to find those people who do not wear masks, refreshing.  We discussed how Betty wrote this book to show people what Brooklyn was like in that day.

We also discussed the pride that people had then.  Although they were all levels of poor, they would not be the one to raise their hand when pie was offered in class.  Friends and neighbors were more – well friends and neighbors.  You helped one another get through and that is not always the case today.

Overall this book rating by the Bookies came up as an above average read and that would be our highest rating we have had yet on a classic.

My Amazon Review

This book is from my personal library